Creative souvenirs a new 'benchmark'

Lei Shiyi, a college student from Chongqing, bought two bookmarks from the souvenir store inside the Palace Museum, commonly known as the Forbidden City.

"It feels like I'm taking part of the Forbidden City back home," Lei said.

The museum's creative endeavor began in 2007 when it produced souvenirs for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Over the next decade, it produced more than 9,600 items featuring the imperial palace and its exhibits - silk scarves, for instance, in the patterns of emperors' dragon robes, or Chinese checkers sets drawing their inspiration from the roof. The museum boasts nearly 2 million antiques in its collection.