China has seen a rise in guochao. QIANTU
If you look around your city, you might spot girls wearing hanfu in subways or people wearing T-shirts with Chinese characters on the streets. A new trend is taking hold in China – guochao, or “China-chic”.
如果你环顾所在的城市，可能会在地铁里发现穿着汉服的女生，或者在街上看到身穿印有汉字T恤的人。一种新的潮流正在中国流行起来——“国潮”。
According to a recently published report, searches related to guochao on Dianping, a lifestyle information platform, have risen by 170 percent from the same period last year, and reviews have risen by nearly 40 percent. China-chic is happening, but what is it?
据最近发布的一份报告显示，在生活资讯平台大众点评上，关于“国潮”的搜索量比去年同期增长了170%，评论也增长了近40%。国潮正在兴起，但什么是国潮?
The term characterizes the rise of China’s native fashion trends. It has expanded the concept of “Made in China”, which has been recognized as the representation of Chinese culture and aesthetics offered by homegrown Chinese brands, according to CGTN.
“国潮”一词代表着中国本土时尚潮流的崛起。据中国国际电视台报道，人们一直认为“中国制造”是指中国本土品牌呈现出的中华文化和美学，而国潮扩大了这一概念。
China-chic came into the spotlight in 2018. Before that, big-name foreign companies dominated the world market. To win market share, many Chinese brands followed in the footsteps of these Western brands. But that year, Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning changed things up. During the 2018 New York Fashion Week, Li-Ning introduced its Taoism-inspired Wu Dao collection. The collection not only had a trendy look, but also included elements of traditional Chinese culture. It immediately grabbed attention at home and abroad. As a result, the company recorded 20 percent revenue growth in 2018, marking the first time the brand’s revenue had hit the 10-billion-yuan mark since its founding.
国潮在2018年成为众人关注的焦点。此前，世界市场一直由外国大品牌主导。为了赢得市场份额，许多中国品牌跟随这些西方品牌的脚步。但那一年，中国运动服装品牌李宁改变了这一局面。在2018年纽约时装周上，李宁推出了以道教为灵感的悟道系列服饰。悟道系列不仅外观时尚，还包含中国传统文化的元素，立即引起了国内外的关注。李宁公司在2018年的营业收入因此增长了20%，这是该公司自成立以来营业收入首次突破100亿元大关。
The trend to embrace domestic brands has since spread rapidly to various sectors and products, from food and drinks to clothing, mobile phones and electric vehicles. For example，White Rabbit, whose sweet candy brings back childhood memories for many, launched its perfume and lip balm. “We want White Rabbit to be a brand that young people want to share,” Shen Qinfeng, the company’s marketing manager, told People’s Daily.
此后，从食品、饮料到服装、手机和电动汽车，国产品牌备受青睐的趋势迅速蔓延到各种领域和产品。例如，以糖果唤醒很多人童年回忆的大白兔，推出了香水和唇膏。“我们希望大白兔成为年轻人愿意分享的品牌，”大白兔的营销经理沈钦峰在接受《人民日报》采访时说道。
Now, the guochao trend is “moving to the next stage, where its success will rely, first and foremost, on gaining cultural confidence rather than Western validation”, according to Kerra Zhou, founder of brand strategy consultancy Kerrisma.
据品牌战略咨询公司Kerrisma的创始人Kerra Zhou称，如今国潮正“步入下一阶段，在此阶段，国潮的成功将首先依赖于获得文化自信，而非西方认可。”
This March, several Western brands boycotted Xinjiang cotton over “forced labor” allegations. To show national pride and cultural confidence, the “I support Xinjiang cotton” campaign spread across the country. Many Chinese boycotted these Western brands and turned to Chinese domestic brands that support Xinjiang cotton, like Li-Ning and Anta.
今年3月，多家西方品牌毫无根据地以所谓涉嫌“强迫劳动”为由，无端抵制新疆棉花。为彰显民族自豪感和文化自信，全中国展开了“我支持新疆棉花”的活动。许多中国人抵制这些西方品牌，转而选择支持新疆棉花的中国本土品牌，如李宁和安踏。
No matter how the guochao trend evolves, there’s one thing that won’t change: Behind the craze is people’s positive attitude toward the country’s development and their recognition of and growing confidence in national culture, said Yao Linqing, a professor in the School of Economics and Management at Communication University of China.
无论国潮趋势如何演变，可以确定的是：“‘国潮’热展现的是人们对国家现在和未来发展的积极心理状态，是对民族文化的认同，更是文化自信的提升。”中国传媒大学经济与管理学院教授姚林青说道。
