‘Let Europe see the splendour of China’: girl dons traditional hanfu dress at London graduation, earning praise for exuding confidence and beauty
- Videos of Li wearing hanfu at graduation in Britain received 3 million views on Douyin, with many praising her poise
- Different from Western clothing that highlights person’s body curve, hanfu shows person’s beauty and elegance from their posture, says a fan
A young Chinese woman has drawn attention at her university graduation in London by donning traditional Chinese attire, prompting online praise for being “confident and beautiful”.
Li Jinyi, 21, surprised onlookers while wearing traditional Chinese hanfu as she travelled from her home to University College London on the morning of her graduation ceremony on September 8.
Having studied in Britain since she was 13, the woman from eastern China’s Shandong province graduated from the university with a bachelor of architecture and chose hanfu, or the traditional clothing worn by Han people, to celebrate her big day.
Li said she wore hanfu for the occasion to “let Europe see the splendour of China”. She also did her own makeup and hairstyle to match her traditional attire.
She said at first she felt a bit uneasy standing out from her schoolmates but was reassured after receiving compliments from her Western friends and strangers.
Li, an influencer with 270,000 followers on Douyin, the mainland version of TikTok, garnered significant public attention when she appeared on the Chinese career reality show An Exciting Offer in 2022 as an intern at a Chinese architecture firm.
Videos of Li wearing hanfu at the graduation ceremony in Britain received 3 million views after she posted them on Douyin, with many praising her poise.
“Beautiful and confident,” commented a person on Weibo.
“A confident girl always looks sparkling,” said another on Douyin.
“This is true cultural confidence. More people are wearing hanfu on the streets now, which is not only their hobby, but also a demonstration of their confidence in Chinese culture,” said a third on Weibo.
One person on Weibo pointed out that the cloud-shaped yunjian collar Li was wearing – a typical women’s clothing accessory from the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1912) – was well suited to the Western graduation gown.
There has been a revival in Han dress among young people in China in recent years, thanks to a cluster of popular shows and documentaries that feature traditional Chinese culture, and to social media which boosts images of people wearing hanfu.
The market for hanfu has expanded from 190 million yuan (US$26 million) to 6.4 billion yuan (US$880 million) from 2016 to 2021, according to a 2021 report by Chinese consulting company iiMedia Research.
Some fashion fans have also become amateur researchers of traditional Chinese clothing, analysing styles and fashion items from different dynasties. They are dedicated to introducing their knowledge of traditional dress to a wider audience.
Mamianqun from the Ming and Qing dynasties, also known as the horse face skirt, is another fashionable item among Chinese women.
In 2022, French luxury fashion house Dior was lambasted by online observers and state media as “culturally appropriating” mamianqun with a US$3,800 dress resembling the garment’s design but the brand said it was a “hallmark Dior silhouette”.
Lu Xiaowei, who has run her hanfu shop since 2006, told China News that the resurgence in hanfu reflected young people’s increasing recognition of their own culture and aesthetics.
“Different from Western clothing that highlights a person’s body curve, hanfu is reserved in shape and shows a person’s beauty and elegance from their posture,” Lu said.
