Fine clothing and elaborate accessories worn by ancient Chinese are a highlight of the ongoing China International Clothes and Textile Expo in the coastal city of Dalian. The exhibition of ancient costumes and ornaments used by ethnic minorities has proved extremely popular.

25 decorated pieces line the 12,000 square meters hall to showcase the evolution of Chinese fashion. They cover the trends of almost every Chinese dynasty.

The rich attire was designed by eleven students from an institute of clothing technology in Dalian. Led by their teacher, they began to conduct extensive research a year ago. After looking through many historical documents and going to major museums across the country, they finally came up with these works.

Their instructor, Luan Hailong, says they've tried to keep these costumes as original as possible. He added they tried hard to avoid being misled by multiple historical dramas and TV series.

According to their research, China didn't have a separate set of clothing for women until the Kingdom of Wei in the year 220. In the Han Dynasty, men and women wore the same garments. Later, narrow strips of ribbon were added to the female version to accentuate their elegance. That's how the concept of women's clothing came to be in China.

Visitors enjoy the show, saying the exhibition offers them rare insight into how Chinese fashion has evolved over the past two thousand years.

(CCTV. com September 24, 2009)