AwomansellsHanfuvialivestreaminginAncailouTownshipofCaoxianCounty,eastChina'sShandongProvince,July6,2023.(Xinhua/GuoXulei)JINAN,Dec.21(Xinhua)--WangBowasnotreallyafanofcostumedramas.Itwasabigdecisionforthe26-year-oldfarmerineastChina'sShandongProvincetoclosehischickenfarmin2015andreverttoproducingtraditionalChinesedress,alsoknownasHanfu.Butthisbusinessturnedouttobeunexpectedlysuccessful.Wangnowownsasmallworkshopemployingmorethan20workers,withrevenuelastyearexceedingeightmillionyuan(about1.13millionU.S.dollars)."IntheAncailouTownshipwhereIlive,almostalltheyoungpeoplebornafter1995arenowinvolvedinHanfubusinesses,"hesaid.Inrecentyears,benefitingfromthegrowingpopularityofsocialmediaandacrazefortraditionalculture,Hanfu,atraditionalstyleofclothingwornbytheHanpeoplewhichusuallyfeaturesintricateembroidery,wasreturnedtothespotlightbyanewwaveofyoungChinesedevotees.However,fewpeopleknowthatthebiggestHanfuproducingbaseinChinaisCaoxianCounty,whichadministersAncailou.Inthefirstninemonthsthisyear,salesofHanfuinthecountyreachedarecordhighof5.53billionyuan,ayear-on-yearincreaseof45.22percent.About40percentofthetotalHanfuinChina'sdomesticmarketwasproducedinCaoxian.AccordingtoZhangLongfei,directorofCaoxian'se-commerceservicecenter,thecountywithmorethan1.3millionpeopleisoneofShandong'smostpopulouscounties,andusedtobetheoriginofmanymigrantworkerswholefttheregiontopursuejobsinChina'sbigcities.About15yearsago,somevillagersinthiscountytestedthewatersbymakingHanfucostumesforphotostudiosesandperformances,beforealsohustlingaroundtotrytosellthem.Thesituationwaschangedbytheriseofe-commerceinChina.In2009,theseHanfumakersopenedonlinestores,andfoundthattheirdressessoldsurprisinglywell.Inthefollowingyears,morevillagersjoinedtheHanfubusiness,involvedineitherproductionoronlinesales."SellingonTaobaoisbetterthanrushingabout"becameasloganinCaoxian.WangfromAncailouhadbeenamigrantworkerbefore2014,earning2,000to3,000yuanamonth.SeeingtheboomingHanfuindustryinhishometown,hedecidedtoreturnthere.Inthefirstmonth,heearnedmorethan200,000yuan.OverthepastfewyearshewitnessedaproductionchaintakingshapeinCaoxian.UniversitygraduateLiangLireturnedinspringthisyear.Anartmajor,the25-year-oldbecameadesignerofHanfu,earningabout8,000yuanamonth.GuoPeng,fromcentralChina'sHenanProvince,usedtobeinvolvedinaclothingbusinessinthesouthChinesecityofGuangzhou,beforeopeningastoreinCaoxianlastyear."LastNovembermystoreopenedalongwithsixothers,"herecalled."Nowwehavemorethan70clothingstoresnearby.""Findadesignerontheinternet.Afteryou'vegotthedesign,youcanfindeverythingyouneedhere,fromfabricstoaccessories,toproducethecostumes,"saidLiWenchuang,who,likeWang,returnedtoCaoxiantostarthisownHanfucompanyin2017.ThisindustrialagglomerationhasdrivendownthecostofHanfu,whichusedtocostabout1,000yuanperitem.NowHanfuitemsproducedinCaoxianaresoldforonlybetween100yuanand300yuaneach,whichiseasilyaffordableformoreyoungpeople,evenstudents.CaoxianCountyiscurrentlyhometo12,797onlineHanfustoresand2,186companiesrelatedtothebusiness,whilecloseto100,000peopleareinvolvedintheHanfuindustry.AccordingtoresearchfirmiMediaResearch,thevalsueoftheHanfumarketinChinawasestimatedat12.54billionyuanin2022,anditwilllikelyriseto19.11billionyuanin2025.ToencouragethedevelopmentofHanfubusinesses,thelocalgovernmentofCaoxianCountyearmarkedabout10billionyuantobuildanindustrialpark,whileaHanfuassociationwasestablishedtopromotecollaborationbetweenproducers,designersandcolleges.Atthesametime,acenterforsafeguardingofintellectualpropertyrightswassetupinthecounty,reducingthenumberofdaysneededforpatentapplicationprocessingfrom180to10days.HaoChaoliang,anofficialwiththeAncailouTownship,expressedhopethattheHanfuproducedinCaoxiancouldbepromotedtomoreplacesacrossChina,apursuitforwhichofflinestoresareagoodoption.Thankstoherofflinestore,whichwasthefirstinAncailou,BaiMenghanhasalreadyreceivedordersfromtouristcitiessuchasXi'anofnorthwestChina'sShaanxiProvinceandLuoyanginHenan.SheisnowplanningtoopenstoresinShanghai,Xi'anandZhengzhou.Forhispart,WangBoistryingtocompletetheproductionlineinhisworkshop."Icandoeverythingnowexceptprinting,"hesaid."Sothecostofmyclothesisabout15to20percentlowerthanothers.InthefutureIamgoingtofocusonhighquality."■AwomansellsHanfuvialivestreaminginAncailouTownshipofCaoxianCounty,eastChina'sShandongProvince,July6,2023.(Xinhua/GuoXulei)AstaffmembersewsHanfuinCaoxianCounty,eastChina'sShandongProvince,July6,2023.(Xinhua/GuoXulei)LiangLidesignsHanfuinAncailouTownshipofCaoxianCounty,eastChina'sShandongProvince,July6,2023.(Xinhua/GuoXulei)Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.