Traditional Chinese costumes boost rural vitalization in Caoxian

The first Caoxian Hanfu Cultural Festival kicked off on Nov 11 in Caoxian county, Shandong province. The month-long event will feature a host of activities, including exhibitions, forums, sales promotions, traditional culture lectures, and performances, aimed at raising the profile of the local industry for traditional Chinese costumes, especially the hanfu.

An exhibition hall of traditional Chinese costumes in Caoxian county, Shandong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Trends popular among the country's youth such as "China chic" (designs featuring elements from traditional Chinese culture), and the growing influence of young consumer groups have driven the development of the hanfu industry in recent years, and Caoxian has seized these opportunities to boost its own profile.

Caoxian is currently home to 2,282 upstream and downstream enterprises in the hanfu industry that have 13,989 online stores on various e-commerce platforms, including Taobao, Tmall, JD, Pinduoduo, Douyin, Kuaishou, and Xiaohongshu. There are presently some 100,000 professionals working in the industry.

A staff member sells traditional Chinese costumes via livestreaming in Caoxian county. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The county has formed a complete industrial chain and brand incubation system that covers original research and development, design and production, accessory production, copyright protection, experiential exhibitions, and online marketing.

According to data from Chinese online discounter Pinduoduo, out of its top 2,000 online hanfu stores, 1,200 are from Caoxian. Additionally, over half of the top 100 hanfu stores on the platform are also based in Caoxian.

Caoxian's share of the domestic hanfu market is more than 40 percent.

A model presents traditional Chinese costumes. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]