A birthday surprise is not easy to come by for 90-year-old Wong, having lived through the majority of the length and breadth of human experience, but dressing up in traditional Chinese hanfu this year came as a welcome treat.

For a group birthday party this year, Wong and her friends decided to dress up in the ancient Chinese attire, don elegant makeup, and get their photos taken.

It's remarkable what a bit of dress-up can do to liven up a party, with almost all guests making a point of saying they would like to do it again with their grandchildren and other friends and relatives.

Li Na, vice-chairwoman of the Chinese Culture and Hong Kong Hanfu Association, one of the event's organizers, said this response was typical.

She told China Daily that hanfu is gaining an increasing following in Hong Kong among people of different age groups, and that her association is growing by the day.

"At first, we only had a dozen or so pieces of hanfu, and our members would just need to keep them at home and take them out when needed. Now, we have over 100 pieces and need to rent a warehouse for storage," she said.