Qipao, a unique Chinese one-piece dress, features a high neck, formfitting, and straight skirt, with high slit on one or both sides. If you want a unique souvenir or a gift for yourself or for your female friend or relative, Qipao can be a nice choice.

How to Choose a Qipao?

Qipao has various styles and it is made of various materials. Then how to choose the right Qipao for yourself? There are two keys.

The Occasion

If you use Qipao as a wedding dress (which is very common in China), your Qipao should be with excellent texture and bright color, and full of jubilant atmosphere. If you use your Qipao as a formal party dress, your Qipao should be made with high quality, dignified and elegant design, and soft color. If you use your Qipao as a casual wear, your Qipao can be chose according to your appetite; even though, I suggest you choose the one can highlight your personality and figure .

The Size

Qipao is a formfitting one-piece dress, and whether the size is well fit to your figure is the key factor. The ready-to-wear Qipaos sold in shops are made according to general figure. Every person has her own personal figure. Hence, you need to confirm your measurements of your chest, waist, and hips before buying a Qipao. When trying on a Qipao, check out whether the size is well fit you, do not forget to check out the collar, the length of the Qipao and its sleeves, and the size of the sleeves should also be considered.

If you are worried about the selection for buying a Qipao, tailor-making your own Qipao is a nice choice.

Buying a Qipao in Beijing

The Qipaos here are more affordable than other shopping malls. You can find many shops selling Qipaos and wedding dressings, uniforms, and other items on the second and the third floors. And the Qipaos in the third floors are cheaper than thse in the second floor. If you intend to buy a Qipao there, you can bargain with half of the initial price. A Qipao might cost you about 400 yuan. You’d better not go there to buy Qipao at weekends but in ordinary days, because price would rise at weekends.

Address: 40 Wukesong Road, Haidian District

Transportation: Take Subway Line 1, get off at Wukesong Station, get out of the subway station from Exit B, and walk towards east.

Two Qipao Brands

Beijing has two famous Qipao brands: Gege Qipao (格格旗袍) and Mu Zhen Le Qipao (木真了旗袍). They are two well-known brands for producing Chinese style clothes, of course including Qipao. You can find these two brands Qipaos in many shopping malls, such as:

The Malls at Oriental Plaza

Address: Dongfang Plaza, 1 Dong Chang’an Street, Dongcheng District (

Address in Chinese: 东城区东长安街1号东方广场)

Tel: 010-8516 6363

Opening hours: 10am–11pm

Bus routes: 1, 10, 20, 37, 41, 52, 59, 106, 108, 111, 116, 120, 420, 684 and 728

Wantong New World

Address: 2 Fuchengmen Wai Street, Xicheng District

Transportation: Take Subway Line 2, get off at Fuchengmen Station and get out of the station from Exit D.

Xidan Saite Shopping Mall

Address: Xidan International Mansion, 111 Xidan North Street, Xicheng District

There are some other places for buying a Qipao: Wangfujing Street, Qianmen Dashilan and Bairong Mart in 101 Yongdingmen Wai Street, Chongwen District. The Qipaos in Bairong Mart are cheaper but with lower quality.