Palace Museum’s cultural and creative products (Photo/Chinanews.com)

The sales volume of the Palace Museum’s cultural and creative products hit 1.5 billion yuan in 2017, Shan Jixiang, curator of the Palace Museum, said on Feb. 17.

Addressing a forum held at Yabuli town in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province, Shan added that the museum’s sales volume in 2017 exceeded the income of 1,500 of China’s A-share listed companies.

The success of this time-honored museum can be mainly attributed to its innovation, and the successful operation of its store on Taobao, China’s leading e-commerce platform, and new media including its WeChat official account.

The Palace Museum has witnessed rapid growth in cultural and creative products, which have gained increasing popularity in recent years. Statistics show that the museum increased 195 kinds of cultural and creative products in 2013, 265 in 2014 and 813 in 2015. By the end of 2016, it had developed a total of 9,170 kinds of cultural and creative products.

The other reason behind the Palace Museum’s success is the broad prospects for China’s cultural and creative industry. The added value from China’s cultural and creative industry hit about 3.5 trillion yuan in 2017, accounting for 4.2 percent of the country’s GDP.