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China: A Chinese woman wearing a qipao (cheongsam) in 1930s Shanghai

China: A Chinese woman wearing a qipao (cheongsam) in 1930s Shanghai

The cheongsam is a body-hugging one-piece Chinese dress for women. It is known in Mandarin Chinese as the qípáo (旗袍; Wade-Giles ch'i-p'ao, and is also known in English as a mandarin gown.

The stylish and often tight-fitting cheongsam or qipao (chipao) that is most often associated with today was created in the 1920s in Shanghai and was made fashionable by socialites and upperclass women.

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