A LANDMARK event celebrating Chinese fashion and culture took place in Bournemouth on Sunday.

The 100 Years of Qipao History Exhibition and Fashion Show, organised by the Wisdom Foundation charity and designers Jiang Chipao, saw guests travel over from Asia and all across the United Kingdom.

The afternoon at the Royal Bath Hotel included a competition between 60 people in the individual qipao show contest, before the qipao design competition.

The qipao is a traditional one-piece dress for women and features bold colours and elegant patterns.

There was also a series of dances and musical displays highlighting the heritage and intricacies of the qipao.

Dance groups included Liverpool Phoenix and Bournemouth Qiapo, which featured members of Bournemouth Chinese School.

The performances combined Chinese tradition with western culture.

The individual fashion show featured three age related categories, with children from Bournemouth making up the sunshine - 5 to 18 year olds - age group.

Entrants from China took to the stage alongside UK participants in the elegant - 19 to 45 - age group and the nobility - 46 plus - group, which included 53-year-old Bournemouth resident Janet Ho.

“Everyone had a fantastic time and it is only going to get bigger,” Janet said.

“You don’t get to see this sort of thing in this country and it is great that a cultural connection has started for the United Kingdom and even more so for Bournemouth.”

A selection of premium qipao dresses by Jiang Chipao ranging from £1,000 to £50,000 were also modelled at the event by Chinese and British women.

Mayor Lawrence Williams attended the event and took part on the judging panel, after delivering an opening speech for the contest.

The event was the first of its kind to be held and after selling out to a crowd of 180 people, there are hopes for the event to return with a bigger audience in the near future.

Catherine Nicholls, founder of the Wisdom Foundation which offers educational opportunities for people to go all around the world and learn about country’s cultures, said the event took her breath away.

“Everyone enjoyed it so much,” she said.

“I was overwhelmed because a lot of the performances were to such a high standard.

“This is just the beginning and we’re looking forward to another event in February.”