From April 18 to 22, 2026, the China Huafu Week · Jiyun Dongfang (吉韵东方, “Auspicious Charm of the East”) unfolded across Changchun, capital of northeast China’s Jilin Province. Co-organized by the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, the China Youth New Media Association, the Jilin Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League, and Jilin Broadcasting Station, the five-day cultural extravaganza drew over 600,000 in-person participants and more than 30 million online viewers through livestreams on the Communist Youth League’s new media matrix.
Timed to coincide with the traditional Shangsi Festival (the third day of the third lunar month), the event embraced a tripartite theme: “To the Sunny Spring,” “To Changchun,” and “To Youth.” Its mission: using huafu — traditional Chinese attire — as a bridge linking youthful idealism with cultural confidence.
A City-Wide Stage for Hanfu Splendor
Unlike conventional exhibitions, the 2026 Huafu Week sprawled across multiple landmark venues, turning Changchun itself into an immersive cultural theater. The main hub on Xinmin Avenue (April 18–19) hosted the Guofeng (National Style) Market, huafu runway shows, parade performances, the Changchun Culture & Tourism Caravan, and a youth arts gala. At the Changchun History and Culture Museum, a dedicated experience zone offered free costume try-ons, professional styling and makeup, portrait photography, and a traditional T-stage where visitors could walk the runway in full regalia.
Interactive intangible cultural heritage zones featured hands-on access to hairpins, circular silk fans (tuanshan), and fragrant sachets, with guided craft workshops led by recognized inheritors. Roaming performers — itinerant “peddlers” and flower-adorned gentlemen in period costume — strolled the crowds, while poetry duels and roly-poly doll street acts added a playful dimension.
The parade featured five thematic formations: the Splendid Elegance formation showcasing dynastic costumes; the Dragon-Leaping Lion-Dancing formation; the Journey to the West Unity formation; the Icy Youth formation nodding to Jilin’s winter identity; and the Hongqi Tiangong vehicle formation — a deliberate fusion of Changchun’s industrial heritage with cultural pageantry.
Stamp Rally and Gamified Exploration
A city-wide stamp-collection challenge encouraged exploration. Participants followed the “Jiqing Feiyang” (吉青飞扬) WeChat account, shared a post for nine likes, and received a stamp booklet. Two independent routes — “Jiyun” and “Dongfang” — guided visitors across venues. Ten stamps unlocked tier-one prizes (themed windmill, huafu hair ribbon, or poetry bookmark; 1,500 daily); 15 stamps earned tier two (themed tuanshan fan or fridge magnet; 600 daily); all 20 stamps yielded the top prize (canvas tote or felt bag; 350 daily).
Campus, Cinema, and Scenic Routes
On April 20, activities shifted to Jilin University’s Nanling Campus, the Changchun Film Studio Heritage Museum, heritage Tram Line 54, the “Zhe You Shan” (这有山) cultural-commercial complex, South Lake Park, and the West Beijing Avenue Historical and Cultural Block. Against blossoming apricot trees, cinematic corridors, and shimmering lake waters, young participants in flowing huafu drew crowds of onlookers.
April 21 continued at West Beijing Avenue, Dongfeng Avenue, and the Changchun Zoological and Botanical Garden for an evening session. The April 22 finale featured a closing Guofeng Market, culminating in the Huafu Yundian (Huafu Grand Gala) — a televised spectacle broadcast live from Jilin Broadcasting Station. The gala unfolded across six chapters with 18 performances, opening with “Spring Awakens the Auspicious Land” and progressing through “Huafu as Etiquette: Splendid Elegance,” “Rites and Music in Harmony,” “National Style in Full Bloom,” and “Mountains and Rivers: Polar Radiance,” before concluding with “Lifting the Brush for a New Journey.” University students, huafu scholars, school pupils, and internet influencers shared the stage with classical dance, martial arts, traditional instrumental music, and folk songs tracing the millennium-spanning evolution of Chinese costume.
As the China Youth Daily reported, the event succeeded in making ancient aesthetics “the pinnacle of taste” among young people — a testament to the growing resonance of traditional culture when presented through an accessible, participatory, and digitally amplified format.