The Cultural Renaissance known as Guochao
While walking down the streets of Chinese cities these days, there are young people dressed in traditional clothes #Hanfu everywhere. It’s like traveling back through the time. Rising from nowhere, the tide of Guochao or China Chic is now sweeping everything. Explore more about the Chinese cultural renaissance.
#ChinaExplained #TwoSessions2024 #2024ChinaAgenda
#ChinaExplained #TwoSessions2024 #2024ChinaAgenda
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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 If you walk down the streets of Chinese cities these days,
00:12 you might notice more and more young people
00:15 dressed in fabulous traditional clothes
00:17 as if they were from the past.
00:19 You might hear the music of bands and artists echoing
00:23 the sounds of ancient times.
00:25 You might also see some young people
00:27 practicing Chinese martial arts in the park.
00:31 Are you ready to jump back in time
00:34 and immerse yourself in the lifestyle of ancient China?
00:37 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:41 There is a trend where the past blends with the present,
00:49 and tradition returns to modern life.
00:51 This is known as Guo Chao or China Chic.
00:56 What is Guo Chao?
00:58 Starting from relative obscurity,
01:00 the trend of Guo Chao has rocketed
01:02 into modern Chinese life, gripping the Chinese imagination
01:06 and influencing a wide range of industries.
01:10 One of the things that you may notice
01:12 on the streets of China or even Europe
01:14 is the revival of Hanfu traditional clothes
01:17 worn by the ancient Han Chinese.
01:20 For thousands of years, Chinese styles
01:22 evolved from dynasty to dynasty, and those outfits
01:26 became very elaborate.
01:28 But these fashions gradually disappeared
01:31 after the collapse of the Ming dynasty in the 17th century.
01:35 However, the arrival of the millennium
01:38 saw a small group of people trying
01:40 to revive the Hanfu culture.
01:45 How about this?
01:46 This is a wedding gown that the Han Chinese used
01:49 to wear about 500 years ago.
01:52 The Hanfu lovers took to historic records
01:55 ancient paintings and archaeological findings
01:58 and restored this traditional style step by step.
02:02 Two decades later, Hanfu has now been
02:05 wisely adopted by Gen Z in China
02:08 as they fuse traditional clothes with modern ones
02:11 to create their own styles.
02:13 The young Chinese bring them to their graduation,
02:16 work or even their weddings, and they are now
02:18 ushering the Hanfu fashion onto the global stage.
02:22 Businesses quickly caught up with the trend
02:24 offered by Hanfu fashion in film, television,
02:28 games and cartoons.
02:30 It's lucrative too, bringing about US$1.8 billion in 2023
02:35 and expected to exceed US$2.7 billion by 2025.
02:41 How influential is Guochao?
02:44 The younger generation of designers
02:45 are incorporating the style into their designs,
02:48 and Chinese celebrities are dressing up in clothes
02:52 featuring ancient Chinese aesthetics.
02:54 Check out the hashtag #NewChinesePattern
02:57 or #新中式 and you will see for yourselves.
03:00 But fashion is never only about garments,
03:03 it's a reflection of social, political,
03:06 cultural and economic changes.
03:08 Now, a wave of Guochao has swept over a wider area.
03:13 The beauty industry, especially Chinese makeup brands,
03:16 have also been riding the wave
03:18 and seized significant market share
03:20 from the dominant European luxury brands.
03:23 And in lifestyle too,
03:25 furniture makers and interior designers
03:27 are also adopting the style.
03:29 Even urban planners are trying to preserve Chinese heritage
03:33 and incorporate traditional Chinese architecture
03:36 in their designs.
03:37 Also, in the Chinese arts,
03:39 from music and painting to film,
03:41 performance and entertainment,
03:43 these days they are omnipresent.
03:46 What drives Guochao?
03:50 Well, you can't explain the explosion of Guochao
03:53 without explaining the difference
03:54 between Gen Z and their parents.
03:58 Born between 1995 and 2009
04:01 and accounting for around 260 million Chinese people,
04:06 Gen Z are mostly affluent digital natives
04:09 born into China's booming economy,
04:12 a wealthier, stronger and more open country.
04:15 The Gen Z no longer sees imported brands as superior
04:19 like their parents did.
04:21 Instead of paying a premium on imports,
04:24 they prefer paying for the design
04:26 and quality of Chinese products.
04:28 Therefore, this rise of traditionalism
04:30 could be interpreted as a rejection
04:33 of the previous generation's enthusiasm
04:35 for Western culture.
04:37 It's also about the rising awareness of national identity
04:40 and a new confidence in their own culture.
04:44 As Chinese Gen Z travel around the world to be educated,
04:47 they realise the value of the culture and traditions
04:50 they have back home.
04:52 While embracing modernity and high technology,
04:55 they value even more of their tradition and history.
04:59 Be it pride or nostalgia,
05:01 Gen Z are picking up the baton and running with it.
05:05 No matter what the fascination is,
05:07 the result is impressive.
05:09 The interest in Guochao has skyrocketed 500% in a decade,
05:14 over 300% in the last year.
05:17 Now, three-fourths of Chinese online consumers
05:20 choose Chinese brands.
05:22 A trend, a rediscovery of identity,
05:25 or in general, the cultural pride.
05:29 Guochao is everywhere.
05:31 But don't get me wrong,
05:32 Gen Z won't be fooled into taking anything
05:35 that hinges on the idea of Guochao.
05:37 At the end of the day,
05:38 success depends on how much effort you put in.
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