On May 24, The First Chinese Cheongsam Culture Festival and Shengjing 1636 — The Third Shenyang International Cheongsam Culture Festival was solemnly held in front of the Shenyang Imperial Palace. This grand cultural festival was co-sponsored by Chinese Folk Artists Association and the Publicity Department of the CPC Shenyang Municipal Committee.
Shenyang is a world-famous historical and cultural city. In 1636, Qing Dynasty established its capital in Shengjing. Cheongsam has then become the official dress for the imperial ladies. Therefore, 1636 is regarded by experts and scholars as the year when Chinese cheongsam was born. Now, Shenyang has been awarded the title of “hometown of Chinese cheongsam” by China Textile Industry Federation and “cultural project of Chinese origin” by China Origin Cultural Research Center.
A total of 1,200 sets of cheongsam in different styles were displayed at the event’s opening ceremony. Traditional Chinese culture such as embroidery, Suzhou embroidery, painting and ancient poetry have been fully blended in this cheongsam show, making it a perfect collective appearance of “wearing China”.
With western music, models from all over the world perfectly performed the beauty of cheongsam mixing with Latin, which fully demonstrated the integration of Chinese cheongsam culture and world art.
Based on the content of the court etiquette story, this cheongsam show has gone beyond single art forms of dance, show, drama, song, etc. Instead, it has staged the prosperous Qing Dynasty from more than 300 years ago through the reproduction of “Huanggege Married, Qing Taizong Emperor Longevity Celebration” and other theme shows.
Cheongsam is not only a cultural costume that can be worn, but also one of the best inheritances of China’s long costume culture. Now it has become both the cultural IP and a brand new identity of Shenyang. Shenyang municipal government is making efforts to create high-quality cheongsam IP through strengthening international exchanges and cooperation, welcoming more excellent designers world-wide to participate in the improvement of cheongsam fashion design. Shenyang is inviting partners from all over the world to explore the marketing, production and industrialization of cheongsam, and jointly create an international cheongsam industry ecology.