This FREE eBook tells the story through text, play dialogue, poems, audio and videos of two sisters Darla & Dana who discover the history, culture, styles and global forms of the iconic Chinese cheongsam. Also known as the qipao, this garment is a tight-fitting dress of Manchu origin with mandarin collar and a skirt slit up the sides to allow women to walk more freely. The cheongsam was modernised by Shanghai socialites as an expression of women’s empowerment at the beginning of the twentieth century and became the go-to fashion style in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Southeast Asia and throughout the global Chinese diaspora.  

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