Thursday, August 21, 2008

Chinese cheongsam becomes popular

Yesterday, August 20, under the guidance of the Jamaican ambassador, Jamaican Sport Minister Olivia Grange and her accompanying guest Ms. Heron, as well as the Jamaican Tourism Minister and several Jamaican coaches, went shopping at Yashow Market. The ambassador has become an China expert after working for such a long time in Beijing.

Yashow, like Silk Street Market, is a popular destination for shopping among foreigners in Beijing. We arrived at Yashow at about 2 o'clock in the afternoon and it was difficult to find a spot in the parking lot. Entering the market, we saw foreigners everywhere bargaining with the vendors.

The Jamaican guests showed great interest in the dazzling array of goods, especially in a tailor shop which makes beautiful Chinese cheongsams. They were amazed by the various colors and decorative designs of the fabric, as well as the classic and elegant style of the traditional Chinese costumes.

They busied themselves choosing their preferred fabric and cheongsam pattern, lingering for a whole afternoon without any thought of leaving. Finally Minister Grange and Ms. Heron each were fitted into three Chinese ensembles. Minister Grange said she would like to wear them to attend the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games.

When we lingered in the shop, many other foreign guests were there also getting custom-made cheongsams. The shop assistants were too busy to serve all of them. Undoubtedly, the cheongsam tailoring business is booming during the Olympic Games, reflecting the popularity of Chinese culture.

By Chen Jialing, a volunteer for the Beijing Olympics

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