Cheongsam (Qipao) is a female dress with distinctive Chinese features and enjoys a growing popularity in the international world of fashion. This body-hugging dress for women in China originating from the Manchu in the early 17th century modernized and improved in Shanghai around 1900.

The name "cheongsam," stands for "long dress," comes from the dialect of China's Guangdong Province (Cantonese). In other parts of the country including Beijing, however, it is known as "Qipao".

Easy and comfortable to wear, cheongsam fits well the Chinese female figure. Its high neck, closed collar, and its sleeves may be short, medium or full length, depending mainly on season and taste. The dress is buttoned on the right or left side, with a loose chest, a fitting waist, and slits up from the sides, all of which combine to set off the beauty of the female shape.

The cheongsam is not too complicated to make. Not only it calls for little material, but also for there are no accessories like belts, scarves, sashes or frills. Besides its simplicity, Qipao provides designers with vast and creative space: some short, some long, with low, high, or even no collars at all.

Today, with its variety of styles, more and more women in China appreciate its beauty. On many occasions, cheongsam is their first choice among dresses. Actually, lots of influential people have suggested that this kind of dress should become the national dress for women in China. This shows that it remains an important part of Chinese culture.

And also, more and more foreign women would like to get a tailor-made cheongsam in China. An experienced tailor will make a cheongsam according to your measurements and requirements and you can also require some minor changes to the pattern, such as button options, the shape of collar, etc. Below lists some recommended well-known Tailor Shops in Beijing.