Visiting the Horse Face Skirt Fever
Cao County is a small county in Heze, Shandong Province. A few years ago, this place was ridiculed by netizens as the "center of the universe" and became popular. Recently, it once again "dominates" the hot searches because of its horse-faced skirt. In January and February alone, online sales of horse-faced skirts reached about 550 million yuan.
Why are horse-faced skirts so popular? Why is this fire burning in Caoxian County? Can horse-faced skirts remain popular? What is the Chinese story behind the popularity of Hanfu? This issue of "A Closer Look at China" specially invites Moldovan observer Aileen to visit the horse-faced skirt epidemic in Cao County.
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Buy a favorite horse-faced skirt
Cao County
Cao County’s Hanfu industry is well-known nationwide. There are two Hanfu industry centers here, and Aileen visited one of them, Daji Town. The streets here are dotted with Hanfu shops, and Ai Lin couldn't wait to shop around. She wanted to choose a horse-faced skirt for herself.
A horse-faced skirt usually refers to a two-piece skirt with a skirt shaped like a "horse face" on a city wall and pleated on both sides. It took shape during the Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty in ancient China, and reached its peak during the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty.
In the spring of 2024, the popularity of horse-faced skirts caused Caoxian County, which manufactures and sells horse-faced skirts, to leave the industry again. Nowadays, when tourists come to Caoxian County, they must bring a horse-faced skirt that suits themselves or their family before leaving.
Customer buys horse face skirt
Aileen interviewed many customers who came to buy horse-faced skirts. Some of them came to Caoxian County to purchase goods, hoping to take advantage of the popularity of horse-faced skirts. Among those who are interested in the business opportunities of horse-faced skirts, some are targeting foreign markets, because this skirt is also worn by many people overseas...
Aileen chose the horse-faced dress she liked. The blue dress had an exquisite upper body and was elegant. However, when she checked out, she found that it only cost more than 100 yuan. The price was beyond her expectation. With such good quality, in Eileen's opinion, $100 is not too much.
Why can horse-faced skirts become so popular at such affordable prices? It is because it is backed by the huge Hanfu industry in Caoxian County.
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Hanfu becomes the “center of the universe”
In May 2021, a blogger from Caoxian County kept shouting "Shandong Caoxian 666" during a live broadcast. Netizens left a message below, "I would rather have a bed in Caoxian County than a room in the north." It is said that the per capita annual disposable income of some towns here is even higher than that of big cities such as Beijing. The main source of people's income is the manufacturing and sales of Hanfu.
Dinglou Village is the birthplace of the Hanfu industry in Cao County. Almost every household here has an online store. A village of more than 300 families, with more than 500 vehicles.
Before 2012, Li Yong and his wife worked on construction sites. Li Yong traveled across most of China from a handyman to a small contractor. And his wife had to get up at 5 o'clock every day to cook for the workers. The young couple's life is so tight that they don't even dare to have children for fear of living in the open and living with them.
Li Yong and his wife Liu Shuangshuang
In 2012, the couple saw villagers making money by opening online stores selling performance costumes, and decided to give it a try. This trial is really the beginning of changing your destiny. In just three months, they made more money than they had worked for a year. When business is good, they can sell 2,500 pieces of clothing a day and earn 600,000 yuan a month. They often receive orders from abroad.
Li Yong and his wife are making children's costumes
Li Yong (horse-faced skirt maker): "We make children's performance costumes, but performance costumes have off-season and peak season. The first half of the year is the peak season, and the second half of the year is basically the off-season. When I make horse-faced skirts, it can be seamlessly connected, ensuring that every time Every month is the peak season, so you can earn more."
Because horse-faced skirts are so popular, 40% of merchants in Cao County did not take the holiday during the Spring Festival. People's wallets have been enriched a lot because of horse-faced skirts.
Recently, Li Yong's online store has received many orders for horse-faced skirts from abroad. He is planning to register an account on Amazon in the second half of the year and sell horse-faced skirts to European and American countries.
Hanfu has made Li Yong and his wife's life richer, and they have a lovely daughter, Li Tongtong. In order to provide their children with a better education, the couple bought a house in the county.
Li Yong (maker of horse-faced skirt): "My daughter is 6 years old this year and goes to a senior class. After sending her off at 8:30, the couple of us came back to pack and ship the goods. At about 5 p.m., she was out of school, and we went back to pick up the child. . You don’t have to run around here and there, but you can still keep your wife and children together, how nice it is.”
Aileen: “After listening to the story of Li Yong and his wife, II saw happiness in my eyes. In the past, they worked in other places and left their hometowns, but now they can create their own dreams. I am really envious of being able to be with my family and children while doing business in Caoxian County. I feel that they are really happy now. ”
In the past, Cao County was a major population export county in Shandong. Now, people back home have opened nearly 14,000 Hanfu online stores. A relatively complete production chain has also spontaneously formed. Currently, 100,000 people are engaged in the Hanfu industry in Caoxian County. Sales last year exceeded 10 billion yuan, accounting for 40% of the total sales of Hanfu in China.
It is no exaggeration to say that in Caoxian, everyone can easily switch to the production of horse-faced skirts. As long as there is fabric, they can join the army of horse skirt manufacturing at any time. But how long can this horse-face skirt craze last?
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How long will the horse-faced skirt remain popular?
The Hanfu industry in Caoxian County is relatively complete, and its high income has attracted more and more college students to return home to start their own businesses, including 2 doctors and 14 masters. Hu Chunqing is one of them who has a double doctorate in materials processing from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Dalian University of Technology. Hu Chunqing's two Ph.D.s are very valuable, and he has prospered in big cities. Why did he resolutely decide to return to Caoxian County after graduation?
Hu Chunqing (head of a Hanfu company): “The Hanfu industry chain in my hometown is becoming more and more mature. Millionaires and multi-millionaires can be made in just a few years, maybe even a year.All the time can be created for you. As long as you dare to venture, dare to do, and dare to think, there will be such a platform here. ”
Hu Chunqing now runs his own Hanfu company and serves as the president of the Caoxian Hanfu Association. When Aileen saw him, he had just returned from a business trip and was too busy to touch the ground.
Hu Chunqing and his wife once went to some museums to collect styles, and found design inspiration from intangible cultural heritage to make horse-faced skirts.
Hu Chunqing shows off horse face skirt
Hu Chunqing (head of a Hanfu company): "This pattern (pictured above) is based on a mural in the Hangzhou Silk Museum book, priced at 238 yuan. Why are our Caoxian horse-faced skirts so popular? What we want to promote is regardless of craftsmanship. The material is still the same as others, but at the same time, its price is close to the people. This is cost-effective, Hanfu that everyone can afford."
Hu Chunqing's company is currently cooperating with Renmin University of China on research and development, hoping to integrate AI technology into Hanfu design so that Hanfu can go further in the current era of rapid development of artificial intelligence.
Hu Chunqing (head of a Hanfu company): "Through AI design, we can scan your body, height, and body shape, and then personalize it. This is a future development space. In the evolution of clothing history, it may be due to wars. There has been a gap for two to three hundred years. One of our responsibilities and obligations now is how to connect these twoThe gap of three hundred years has allowed it to continue. Leading the world in the apparel field, this is also a direction of our efforts. ”
In the 2024 Chinese Government Work Report, domestic "trendy products" are listed as new consumption growth points, which has attracted an endless stream of local governments and enterprises to Caoxian County for inspection and learning. Wang Xiaoqiang, an entrepreneur from Suzhou, is working with a local government to build a national-style cultural tourism and is also preparing to enter the horse-faced skirt market.
Wang Xiaoqiang (Suzhou Entrepreneur): "There is a saying in China called returning to nature. Since the 1980s, we have experienced various cultures, and now we have returned to the trend of national style. To my senses, national style will become more important in the next ten years. It is heading towards a high point, which will deeply affect the psychology of everyone in the world."
Diagonally opposite Hu Chunqing's Hanfu base, there is also the largest local Hanfu base under construction. After horse-faced skirts became popular last year, this Hanfu company started making horse-faced skirts in August. The person behind this company is Cai Xiufang, who has occupied the Japanese coffin market.
62-year-old Cai Xiufang is definitely a successful businessman. Why does the horse-faced skirt make her stop? What other experiences and gains did Aileen have during her trip to Caoxian County? For more exciting content, please pay attention to this issue of "A Closer Look at China".
