Li Doudou's gray kitten squeezes in next to her as she sits painstakingly applying makeup and putting up her hair in a bun adorned with elaborate ornaments.

Looking like she has just stepped off the set of a Chinese historical drama, the 26-year-old property appraiser is wearing a long Ming dynasty-style blue tunic with sweeping sleeves and a flower design outlined in gold and silver thread, paired with a flowing orange skirt.

Li, who lives in Hebei province in northeast China, is a devotee of the hanfu movement, which has spanned a decade and in the last year has seen a spike in followers, partly thanks to social media.