In recent times, the Palace Museum has released many "cute" cultural products. The new edition of the Palace Museum date book has been selling well since it hit the shelves. The 66-yuan date book has been nicknamed by netizens as "the red brick".

Hua Xu, the main compiler of the date book for the recent three years, is not a professional engaged in cultural work but a fan who is interested in this field, but many experts have been involved in the compiling process.

It is not only the 2015 book that is favored by customers. The prices of old editions are booming too. The price for the 2010 Palace Museum date book has risen to 2,000 yuan, more than 30 times the original price. The 2011 book is priced at over 400 yuan.

Even so, old editions of the Palace Museum date book are hard to buy. Date books prior to 2014 are unavailable at online stores including Dangdang and Amazon. At the official online store of the Palace Museum, even the 2015 Palace Museum date book has been sold out.

The Palace Museum date book was first published annually from 1933 to 1937. The War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression interrupted publication and it was not revived until 2009. The 2010 Palace Museum edition, which was based on the 1937 one, came out and became popular again. The print run of the 2010 edition was less than 20,000, making it a rare item to own.

To meet market demand, the print run for the 2015 Palace Museum date book has been increased to 180,000. "The first 100,000 have sold out, and the printer is busy producing the second batch," said a person in charge of the press. 

This article was edited and translated from 《故宫日历》走红 老版身价翻三十倍, source: People's Daily Overseas Edition, authro: Wang Yan, Zhao Yingyan.