Chinanews, Beijing, Apr. 3 – Shanghai municipal government is working on a list of cultural items it wants to include as city-level intangible cultural heritages. It will announce the first batch of the items on June 9. These items are also the ones that local government tries to apply for inclusion as state-level cultural heritages. Traditional handicraft of making Cheongsam will be included in the name list.

 

Originally, Cheongsam was a dress typically worn by Manchu women in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The dress is made with a high neck, closed collar, slits high up from the sides, and buttoned on the right side, all of which are made to display the beauty of the female figure, especially the figure of Oriental women. During the 1920s, the Han people incorporated some Western cloth-making techniques in the dress, making it more like an evening dress worn by Western women. It soon became fashion clothes in Shanghai. With its fitting shape, many Chinese women liked to wear it. As time went by, the dress adopted more changes and it nearly became a must for all Chinese women during the 1930s. At that time, many famous film actresses also wore Cheongsam, which made it become even more popular.

 

As a traditional commercial city in China, Shanghai has many intangible cultural heritages. In addition to Cheongsam, the city also wants to include the 51 long-standing shops or firms, the first batch of old branded firms designated by the Ministry of Commerce, on its intangible cultural heritage list.