Never give up and it’s never too late to pursue your dream.
Like the story of Wang Yuehua, a 65-year-old model from Chongqing. Wang had a passion for performance since she was a little girl. She once passed a test to join an art troupe but had to drop out for family reasons. Later, she worked at a factory and opened a restaurant. When she turned 54, she decided to pursue her dream again.
At the 2020 China Fashion Week for Middle-Aged and Senior People, she won recognition for her lifetime of achievement in modeling in Dalian, Liaoning province.
At that time, at least 300 models from some 20 provinces and municipalities participated in the annual event, which is reportedly the largest fashion week in Asia for the age group.
Then, she decided to closed her business and enrolled at a local college where older people learn and refine their dancing, singing, body-shaping and Mandarin.
With help from her daughter, Mao Yuanyuan, an international award-winning professional model, Wang finally hit the runway and performed at fashion shows for older people.
To improve her technique, she entered several training programs in Beijing and became a modeling coach.
In 2018, the mother-daughter duo set up an art training center to provide modeling lessons for the elderly.
“Modeling is good exercise for the elderly, and it can greatly boost their confidence and rejuvenate their passion for life,” Wang said. “We older models demonstrate not the clothes but ourselves.”
Wang shared her secret for keeping fit.
“Keep up regular exercise and eat every meal properly with only 70 percent full,” she said.
With China experiencing a shift toward an older population on average, Wang said there is a huge demand for the middle-aged and senior models.
