[Photo/Xinhua]

"A part of my heart is Chinese," renowned Italian actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta told Xinhua as a parade of as many as 500 models walked the runway wearing traditional Chinese women's dress Qipao on the first day of the Shanghai Week.

"Today it is a fantastic day. I think Qipao is one of the most feminine dresses in the world. You feel very elegant and at the same time it is very sexy, and it is something that is a tradition, " Cucinotta, who was wearing herself a Qipao for the occasion, went on saying. "You have to respect and keep the tradition because it represents who you are and where you come from," she stressed.

"I have so many friends in China. I have been working there for eight years so I have become a little bit Chinese inside, and I proud to be here and celebrate with my Chinese friends," she said a day after the China National Day was also celebrated at the Expo Milano 2015.

"Shanghai is a fresh market for the textile brands. With China' s economic development, the quality of life of citizens is improving and also the quality of goods," Tong Jisheng, Chairman of Shangtex Holding Co, a major Shanghai-based textile manufacturer, told Xinhua.

"We have brought to the Milan Expo some of the most innovative products," he said, stressing the will of vibrant city Shanghai to further boost collaboration with Milan and the Western world. Shanghai hosted the 2010 world exposition, before passing the baton to Milan, he noted.

Therefore Shanghai, the fashion capital of China, has a huge potential of win-win cooperation with non-Chinese companies in the textile sector, Tong went on saying. "I believe the fashion of the future could be a combination of Western and Asian ingredients," he added.

"I can say that I know China very little, but I find these musics and colors very fascinating," a visitor, Susanna Cardamuro, said while watching the Qipao parade with her brother.