“In the summer, I really like wearing traditional Chinese dresses! Last semester I used to wear the very traditional kind, called 汉服 (hanfu) which was more old-style clothing. Now, I wear a more modern version of the traditional dresses, called 汉服改良 (hanfu gailiang). I usually buy [them] on Taobao actually. It’s really hard to find these types of dresses in Shanghai nowadays, so I just buy it online.”“From the people in our school, I mostly get positive comments. A lot of people appreciate my style of clothing, and some students tell me it’s great that I wear it and show the culture behind it. But I don’t really wear it back home… My mother thinks I shouldn’t wear that type of clothes. She’s worried that I will get stared at when walking outside, and that people in Shanghai will point at me and talk about me, and she doesn’t want me to get hurt by it. But I don’t it’s that bad, and I really like wearing what I wear.”

This article was written by Sabina Olsson. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit:Maya Williams