It is an increasingly popular trend in China to rent traditional costumes and have a photoshoot wearing it. We first encountered it in Zhaoxing, but we quickly discovered that it is a wider phenomenon.
Chinese people love beautiful things, and love their social media, so it is not a surprise that they also love taking pictures in the dress.
While it might seem a bit tacky, we also thought it at the beginning. But it is also a fun way to celebrate the Chinese culture.
In this blog post I will answer all the questions you might have about this unique experience.
How to find traditional costumes for rent?
You don't need to find them, they will find you! Literally every tourist destination is full of those rental shops - there are so many of them, that you might wonder how any of them make money. In any scenic location that it is a popular thing to do, you can expect to find them.
There is no need to book it in advance, just show up and find a shop that has a costume you like.
How long does it take?
The standard package includes renting a dress for 4 hours.
If you want to have full make up and a dress, it will take around 45 minutes, up to an hour to prepare. Hanna had only clothes so it took us 10 minutes.
You can then expect the photoshoot to last also up to an hour, depending how busy it is and how many photos you decide to purchase.
Then you have extra time you can spend just enjoying the dress.
How do Chinese people react to foreign tourists dressing up in the traditional costumes?
They don't seem to mind. They don't seem to see it as a culture appropriation or something strange.
When they see foreign kids dressed up, they take pictures and say how beautiful, or how cute. At least this is what happened to us
Are there costumes for rent in children's sizes?
Yes! Hanna was 3 years old at the time and while slightly to big, the costume fit her. Even the shoes, although she had to walk carefully.
Because of her personality, she much more enjoyed getting dressed up and walking in the costume than taking photos (which shows in the end result.
I highly recommend this activity for families travelling with kids - it is a lot of fun for them, and it is a great way to introduce them to Chinese culture.
What is the costume rental experience like
We are definitely not prime customers for the costume rental, but since Hanna said herself she wanted it, we let her do it.
It turned out to be quite fun - Hanna wanted to be dressed in the Miao minority costume. She much enjoyed dressing up, less so the actual photos being taken - no posing effort on her side.
Traditional costumes rental cost
We paid 200 Yuan for renting one costume for our daughter, including the service of a photographer and 30 photos taken (3 photos of our choice developed).
There are several factors that will impact the price of rental of your costume:
Location
You can expect higher tier cities and most popular tourist spots to be the most expensive
Whether or not you need a photographer
Hiring a photographer with your costume naturally costs a premium, and even though they are not necessarily really professional photographers (and the time they spent editing photos is short) I highly recommend doing it.
First of all, renting a costume is about the experience, and it is having the photographer that will make it more special.
Secondly, he knows the best spots to take photos, will tell you what poses are most photogenic etc.
How many photos taken and edited you want
We bought a package of 30 photos, 3 of them developed. We didn't need any more as it was only for Hanna's entertainment, but if you want to optimize for best chance of having great photos, I would recommend taking more.
Whether it is a high street vendor or a hotel
If you stay in an hotel in a tourist town, chances are there is a costume rental place in your hotel. However, you can expect the price to be much higher. While the photographer might be more professionaly (and likely speaking English), you have to decide for yourself whether or not it is worth the price.
How many hours you want the costume for
Standard rental is from what we understood up to 4 hours, so if you want to spend the whole day feeling like you travelled back in time, you need to pay extra.
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