A model presents a creation by Zhang Qing'er. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Guided by her spiritual calling, she settled in Chiang Mai, where she was thrilled to find high-quality cotton, which offers softness, comfort and is eco-friendly, she says.

Zheng founded the brand Qing's in 2003, selling to travelers and international merchandisers.

The brand uses only cotton for its clothes, she says.

"I believe that clothes are not just for looking at. I want my customers to feel at ease in these clothes."

Brand-conscious Chinese customers have also grown more aware of indigenous brands as they start to get interested in their own culture, Zheng says.

"I hope my clothes can be part of that evolution."

She is now planning a studio in Xiamen, a coastal city in East China's Fujian province. It is a city that tries to attract designers with favorable policies and subsidies.

She says the studio will integrate everything she has experienced and learned, including the art of drinking tea, Buddhism, spiritual music and Chinese costume history.

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