The traditional Zhongshan suit, a tunic often worn by China's revolutionary forefather Sun Yat-sen, may soon be officially recognized as a cultural heritage icon.

The city of Zhongshan, hometown of Sun Yat-sen, is in South China's Guangdong Province.

The suit has four pockets in the front and a turned-down collar.

The cultural authority in Zhongshan is now collecting information about the Zhongshan suit and will submit an application to the highest cultural authority, to have the uniform registered on the "national intangible cultural relics list", Chen Qiaozhang, the authority's deputy director, said.

"Once the application is approved, the special Zhongshan suit will be better protected and promoted," Chen said.

As part of efforts to promote use of the uniform, the nation's first Zhongshan suit culture exhibition center, which occupies about 400 sq m in Zhongshan, will also be opened next month, Chen said.

Chen Wenzhu, a manager of the Zhongshan Chinese Costume Co Ltd, a company with an 80-year-old history of making Zhongshan suits, said it was hoped the suit would again become popular.

"We surely support the application," he said.

The Zhongshan suit became fashionable among Chinese people in the early part of last century and remained popular with late leaders such as Mao Zedong, and became regarded as a must-have item for young Chinese people in the 1960s and 70s.

Chen said he also hoped the Zhongshan suit could be selected as the official uniform for the Chinese sports delegation and ritual staff for the upcoming Olympic Games ceremonies.

"The Games, which will leave a distinctive Olympic legacy for the country, will also be an occasion to display Chinese traditional costume culture," Chen said.

"And the Zhongshan suit is expected to become popular if it is displayed at the special occasion."

Although fewer people are wearing the suits these days, Chen said he was sure they will once again regain popularity because the suit had been given a slight makeover.

"Based on the original suit, we have upgraded it with modern fashionable elements including new materials and design features in an effort to keep pace with the times," Chen said.

These include leather detailing and embroidered Olympic rings, he said.

(China Daily Otober 31, 2007)