As hanfu culture flourishes, businesses profit

People in hanfu take photos in Luoyang, Henan province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The flourishing of hanfu culture has boosted hanfu-related businesses in Henan province, which have seen a sharp increase in the first half of the year.

Hanfu is an ancient Chinese style of clothing.

In the first half of 2023, the number of newly registered hanfu-related companies in Henan increased by more than 1,000 percent over the same period last year, according to Tianyancha, a corporate information provider. Henan now ranks second in the country in the number of such companies.

The city of Luoyang, an ancient Chinese capital, is one example. As of July this year, the number of hanfu-related businesses in the city exceeded 700, and the volume of online orders saw a year-on-year increase of more than 600 percent.

Luoyang has consistently dominated as the most sought-after hanfu check-in location on Douyin, the Chinese-version of the TikTok platform, for six consecutive months. Hanfu stores in the city's Luoyi ancient town receive an average of 56,000 visitors daily. Further, the topic of "Luoyang hanfu" has garnered a staggering 2.48 billion online reads on Douyin alone.

Yang Mengjie, an assistant researcher at the Institute of Digital Economy and Industrial Economics of the Henan Academy of Social Sciences, said hanfu is more than a fashion trend. "It's actually just a carrier of culture, behind which lies the historical and cultural confidence that arises from the hearts of the people," Yang was quoted by Henan Daily as saying. "The valuable cultural resources of Henan, coupled with innovative application scenarios, enable an internal transformation from cultural soft power to robust economic support, which is just a natural course of events."

People in hanfu take photos in Luoyang, Henan province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]