Escaping urban hustle with stitches: Qipao studio owner’s life in suburban Shanghai

In Xiangdong Village of Pudong in east China’s Shanghai, there is a unique little courtyard, lush with greenery and blooming flowers, adorned with exquisite Qipao, a traditional dress of Chinese women. Four years ago, Wang Ying resigned from her white-collar job in downtown Shanghai and founded the Qipao studio in the small courtyard. Now she works with two like-minded young women, creating handmade Qipao dresses and offering sewing classes.

Wang has had a passion for handicrafts since childhood. After giving birth to her daughter, she became enamored with fashion design and started making clothes for her child. Over the years, through extensive learning and practice, her skills have significantly improved. Her deep affection for Qipao and yearning for an idyllic lifestyle led her to leave her stable job, rent a small courtyard in the countryside, and embark on her entrepreneurial journey.

The Qipao dresses she designs feature traditional flat cross-cutting methods. She incorporates her understanding of beauty and inspiration into every stitch, reflected in the designs of collars, hems, and Chinese buttons.

In recent years, there has been a growing number of enthusiasts for handmade Qipao dresses and Chinese garments, and Wang’s studio has gained increasing recognition. The simple and pleasant lifestyle shared by Wang and her partners has also garnered attention and appreciation on social media platforms.

“Qipao is more than just a garment. It represents a cultural inheritance. For me, making Qipao is not merely a hobby, but a dream and a way of life that I aspire to pursue,” said Wang.

Reference Link:- https://english.news.cn/20250503/73d239951cb147b797f66ce32a093134/c.html

Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan Founder & Chair, Global Silk Route Research Alliance

Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…

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