Old attraction appeals to youth

More people in their twenties visiting Palace Museum in Beijing, thanks to new features

The Palace Museum, which was home to emperors during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, will celebrate its 600th anniversary next year. Defying its age, the complex in Beijing has become remarkably alive.

The upswing is not due to a legendary imperial elixir, but mainly the result of its souvenirs that are a hit with young people.

Ranging from lipsticks and paper fans to mobile phone covers and cartoon warriors, products with elements of the royal palace and its collections numbered around 10,000 at the end of 2017.

Thanks to the increasing influence of its unique intellectual property protection, sales of such products reached 1.5 billion yuan ($224.55 million) in 2017, said Shan Jixiang, curator of the Palace Museum, at a forum last week.

He made a special mention of the themed lipsticks, which are a phenomenon on the internet. More than 900,000 tubes were sold four days after their launch in December 2018. "If there is anything imperfect about the lipsticks, it is the fact that it is hard to get one," Shan joked.

The Palace Museum's store at online marketplace Taobao dates back to 2010. But it did not make a splash until it introduced products with youth appeal in 2013.

Many more such products have been crafted over the years, and they frequently go viral.

"We used to call them cultural products, but later we realized that the word 'creativity' need to be added into them," said Shan.

"If you want to make such products a success, my understanding is that, first, you have to offer things people need in their life. Then you dig into the cultural treasures and find ones that can combine with the things people need in their life."

Beijing TV is broadcasting a documentary series about how these products are designed and crafted, called New Arrivals at Palace Museum.

The program was not created for selling products, Mao Jia, the director, said in an interview with the Beijing News newspaper. "Such products do not generate much profit and a large part of the proceeds is used for relics' repair and protection.

"The documentary is targeted at building a bridge between the Palace Museum and the youth."

The museum is expanding the type of its cultural and creative products. It opened the Corner Tower Cafe in December 2018.

Decorated with elements of the famous ink-and-paint work A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, the cafe sells drinks with names like Emperor Kangxi's Favorite Milk Tea, which allows visitors to imbibe traditional culture in a fun way.

Such features are a reason for more people visiting the Palace Museum.

According to Shan, the museum enjoyed a record number of 17 million visits in 2018, and the visitors were getting younger. Statistics show that those aged below 30 accounted for 40 percent of the total, and those aged 30-40, around 24 percent.

lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 02/28/2019 page17)