Cultural creative products from museums around China.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

2. Cultural creative products in museums

According to Vice-Director Guan Qiang of the State Administration of Cultural Relics, the total sale generated by 9 museums jointly built by the central and local governments was 97 million yuan ($15 million) in 2015.The revenue of each level of museum varies. Prefecture-level museums display more creative products than county ones.

According to the magazine Art Market, by the end of 2016, out of the 4,526 museums in China, 2,256 were recognized by the nation as museums that had the capabilities to develop cultural creative products on mass scale.

The Palace 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.