Zhang Zening, a hanfu supporter and lover in Nanjing, East China’s Jiangsu Province, started a surprising journey eight years ago to restore (使复原) this traditional Chinese clothing. Inspired by ancient murals (壁画), Zhang, 41, studied the artistry of hanfu in various museums, changing paintings into touchable and wearable pieces.

Upon graduating from college, Zhang first worked in material research, burying herself in the laboratory, conducting chemical experiments for the study of raw materials. At the time, she was one of the earliest lovers of hanfu in China, frequently organizing various hanfu activities in her spare time. Now as the owner of a hanfu studio, Zhang has worked with women’s re-employment organizations, looking for full-time stay-at-home women with sewing (缝纫) skills. This matched with her need for the production of hanfu.

Around 2015, Zhang began to focus independently on the process of hanfu restoration. In that year, she visited Dunhuang, Northwest China’s Gansu Province where she was attracted by the beautiful murals there, wondering how she could possibly change them into beautiful costumes.

In the past years, she has traveled to more than 10 cities across China, constantly studying murals and conducting research to restore hanfu from different dynasties. She managed to restore more than 50 sets. She referred to different materials including various murals, other cultural relics and literature to make sure that the restoration is as correct as possible. Thanks to her work, many young people wear restored hanfu when they visit museums, and Zhang is excited to see more of them doing so.

Hunan province in Central China is also home of many influential and talented celebrities, including thought leaders, artists, inventors and political figures, Yuan Shenggao reports.

Located in Central China, Hunan province boasts a splendid history and abundant cultural heritage.

Six exquisite, five-color glazed porcelains, presented at a news conference of the province in Beijing in late July, drew the attention of the media. The conference was held to brief the media on a series of events launched by the province in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China on Oct 1.

Four of the six porcelain vases were collected by the National Museum of China and the other two were to be kept by the museum in August, said Shen Bin, an inheritor of the technique of five-color glazed porcelains in Liling city of Hunan.

Shen described the products as “white as jade, clear as a mirror, thin as paper and sound like chime”, which can display the oriental elegance to the world.

The technique of five-color glazed porcelains, listed among national intangible cultural heritage, can be traced back to more than 1,700 years ago and was invented at Liling Kiln.

In the early 20th century, the technique was improved in the company founded by Xiong Xiling, an industrialist and educator from Hunan, who employed top ceramists and introduced the most advanced manufacturing equipment.

The technical upgrade enhanced the quality of porcelains and enriched the colors of the products, improving their artistic and utility value.

Now Liling has become one of the biggest ceramic products export cities in China. In 2018, the import and export of the city totaled about $480 million, of which roughly 60 percent was contributed by local ceramics, according to official figures.

Besides the five-color glazed porcelains, Hunan is closely linked with many celebrities.

Living abroad requires a delicate adjustment and balancing of cultures. Moving from Scotland to Austria, the differences aren’t so great, perhaps, as with a relocation to Asia or Africa. But things are still different enough to be unsettling.

One of the first differences I noticed was the opening hours of shops here. During the week, supermarkets close at 7:30 pm, at the latest. On Sundays, they aren’t open at all. No shops are. I ate out on my first Sunday here, and I learned my lesson. To begin with, I thought it was highly convenient. What if I ran out of milk in the evening, or wanted to buy biscuits before bed? In the UK, I was so used to massive supermarkets, which stayed open until at least 10:00 pm, if not for twenty-four hours. But now, I panic buying food every Saturday, to ensure my cupboards are well-stocked for the next day. “What do people do here on Sundays?” I asked my flat mate after my first Sunday here. She just looked at me. “Nothing.” she replied. She lived in London for a year, she told me, and when her Austrian friends came to visit her, instead of going to bars in the evenings, they wanted to spend time in twenty-four hour Tesco. They’d run round the aisles, amazed at the number of people shopping at midnight, at the size of the supermarket, and at the amount of choice contained within it.

If it’s inconvenient, then there’s also something nice about it. Who needs to be able to buy soup or soap or bread twenty four hours a day? No one really needs to of course, it’s just nice to know that we can. But it’s nice, too, to have Sundays completely free from material worries, Sundays here are all about relaxing for hours in coffee shops, spending time with friends and catching up on last-minute work before the week begins again on Monday. Sunday is a day of rest, whether religious or not, and a day of pure pleasure.

People in the UK often complain. “I thought Sundays were meant to be a day of rest! ”while rushing to work, doing chores or standing in queues in shops. Well, here in Austria, it really is a day of rest. It’s different, but it’s a difference I could certainly get used to.