Chinese style has been there all the time. It may not have been the most smashing thing around, but sure it has got a cult following. Check out the commie chairman mao style.....Just so that chinese style keeps on changing.

Chairman mao style is more a Soviet commie style, and it doesn't exist outside of mainland China, you can't find it in HK and Taiwan. And it's only within a particular period. If we want to talk about consistancy of Chinese style, can we find certain cohesiveness? Chinese style seems so spontaneous and unstructured in a sense.

There's none I know so far...Its frustrating to know sometimes. Style switches as fast as the Beijing "bian4 lian3" performers.

There's no Chinese style, but oriental style...but oriental style is so diversified.

HK and Taiwan seems widely influenced by everywhere else, japanese, american, etc...

Singaporean chinese are losing character and the Singlish accent is taking a turn.

But HK seems to have its own unique style due to history and geography and population, Taiwan has its own that's slightly different than HK and China, as far as aesthetic goes, Chinese culture has been influenced by foreign cultures though-India, Middle East, Western cultures. Even what we think of as the traditional Chinese long dress wasn't "Han"'s style, which you would know Han is the largest tribe of ethnic Chinese. It started by Manchurian after they took over when they started the Ching dynasty. Before Ching dynasty from old paintings and artifacts one would notice how fluid and flowy past women's clothes were. What we know as the "traditional" Chinese long dress only has been around for a century or even less, and it'd gone through changes and evolved into the way it looks today. Chinese have been taken influences from everywhere throughout their history, it's actually a strength.

I realise that too, the slight difference is always there.
Maybe Chinese have already taken in enough influences over the years...and it is going to burst soon. Sure enough the chinese are good at adaptation.

I think in China we will see many of the same processes of style developing that we did in Japan, ie the appropriation of Western signifiers and their reassembling into something totally different from their original arrangements, with different meanings. Then this will be infused with revivals of 'traditional' Chinese aesthetics for something that is truly original.

HK is a good example. People think of Wong Kar Wai's films when they are looking for certain aesthetic of Hong Kong, or gangster films like Infernal Affairs for modern Hong Kong feel. I think we may start to see modern China in Shanghai. Hong Kong style and mainland China's style would be differnt, they would never be the same since the geography of HK is very unique, when you are in central HK, its modernness is overwhelming. Central HK is really international.

Speaking of gangster films, I was watching Yaju no Seishun from the early 60s the other day, it just so occurred to me that the late 60s and 70s gangster films and gangster film spoofs from HK bears a certain resemblance to that.

speaking of wong kar wai's films, it's funny to note that chris doyle (his cinematographer), who is australian, is at least partly responsible for that "hong kong look". it's not a bad thing, as long as the diversity doesn't eat into the identity (if hong kong has one...)

regarding chinese style, it's tough to just think of one since the culture is over 5000 years old. if you look back, there were great different styles in different periods. it's just that i think we the chinese are a bit lost in this century.