<img src='https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-11-23/Museum-inspired-fridge-magnets-boost-confidence-in-Chinese-culture-1yL4DJgn7QA/img/8f1ab6714b104119ac4405e58c0e7d9f/8f1ab6714b104119ac4405e58c0e7d9f.png' alt='Fridge magnets launched by the National Museum of China have gone viral on Chinese social media. /CFP'
Fridge magnets launched by the National Museum of China have gone viral on Chinese social media, with many internet users listing the magnets among their “most wanted cultural and creative products.”
Inspired by the phoenix coronet of Empress Xiaoduan from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), which is listed among the Chinese cultural relics forbidden to be exhibited abroad, the fridge magnets come in both wood and metal styles, and are delicately crafted to reflect the coronet’s original design.
The popularity of the fridge magnets was directly shown in the sales. Liao Fei, deputy head of the museum’s operation and development department, told CMG that around 80,000 magnets have been sold within just three months, contributing to merchandise sales of relevant products exceeding 10 million yuan (about $1.4 million).
Consumers’ strong interest in cultural and creative products is one of the reasons behind the frenzy of the museum’s fridge magnets.
The 2024 Cultural and Creative Industry Report recently released by the Shanghai-based Mob research institute showed that more than 95 percent of the respondents will buy cultural and creative products, and 74.1 percent of the respondents will buy cultural and creative products for the purpose of collection.
The report also highlighted the importance of the emotional and cultural value of the cultural and creative products, which attracts the consumers to purchase them.
Liao also clarified a misconception that the fridge magnets have brought the phoenix coronet to fame, saying “that is not the case.”
He added that workers at his department noticed that many people came to the museum to take photos of the phoenix coronet, so they began to develop cultural and creative products related to the coronet.
Besides the wooden magnets, the workers also designed metal ones with AR special effects, allowing consumers to look at the way they are wearing the coronets after scanning a QR code.
However, Liao admitted that he never expected the products to be so popular. “At present, on the basis of ensuring product quality, the daily output of wooden fridge magnets will reach 5,000 pieces in one or two months,” said Liao, adding that the daily production of metal ones has increased from 3,000 to 5,000 pieces.
<img src='https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-11-23/Museum-inspired-fridge-magnets-boost-confidence-in-Chinese-culture-1yL4DJgn7QA/img/ed49320cb870499ea56280f4434bac81/ed49320cb870499ea56280f4434bac81.png' alt='People choose cultural and creative products at the National Museum of China in Beijing, China, November 3, 2024. /CFP'
The strong demand for cultural merchandise is not a new phenomenon. In 2021, Chinese authorities rolled out a set of measures to encourage the development of creative cultural products inspired by museums, libraries, memorial halls and other cultural sites.
Such products should help people better understand and boost confidence in Chinese culture, according to a document jointly issued by eight departments including the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the National Cultural Heritage Administration.
Nowadays, museums across the country have introduced unique cultural and creative products related to their most precious treasures, with fridge magnets emerging as the most popular item.
At Hangzhou Museum in east China’s Zhejiang Province, a fridge magnet shaped like a “little pink cup” has become highly sought after, and at least 40,000 of these have been sold since late July. This magnet is inspired by a shadowy blue glaze high-foot cup with red underglaze from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), and reflects superior porcelain production skills.
Various forms of creative cultural products are not only a kind of spiritual nourishment pursued by collectors, but also realize cultural transmission amid the frenzy pursuit and purchase, experts said.
Bu Xiting, associate researcher at School of Cultural Industry Management, Communication University of China, told CMG that the creative cultural products have promoted the close integration of cultural heritage with modern life and enhanced the public’s strong interest in traditional culture, especially among the younger generation.
Song Yuhan, secretary-general of the Cultural Heritage Communication Committee of the Chinese Society of Cultural Relics, told China News that the fridge magnets not only reduce the distance between ancient traditional culture and modern happy life, but also give new vitality to excellent traditional culture under communication context in new era.
The experts both stressed that the creative cultural products serve modern people and life, which also matters much in China’s journey to develop a strong culture in the country by 2035.
Cultural-related authorities and organizations are urged to make efforts to advance the capabilities of providing cultural services and products to satisfy people’s diverse, multilevel and multifaceted cultural needs at the 17th group study session of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee late October.
As for Liao, the hot sales of fridge magnets have pushed him to continue exploring popular collections and develop relevant creative cultural products with new technologies, thus letting collectors better understand the profound culture within the relics and immersively interact with them.
