SHANGHAI, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Gold-foil soap with ancient-style Chinese copper coins inside, notebooks with Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) painting patterns, these were among the 5,757 kinds of cultural creative boutiques at a Shanghai expo that are more appealing to young customers.
More than 700 cultural institutions from all over China were at the cultural creative products expo, part of the ongoing 12th China Art Festival, bringing their newest design works and creative products.
The four-day expo, which closed Wednesday, achieved total sales of 34 million yuan (4.9 million U.S. dollars) within four days, demonstrating the growing business opportunities for China's cultural creative industry.
"It is delicate and beautiful," said 21-year-old college student Yang Fan of a notebook she bought at the expo. The notebook was designed by the National Library of China.
Inspired by an old Chinese diet therapy book, the library designed the notebook into two volumes, Spring and Summer, Autumn and Winter, with the cover fully embroidered.
The Palace Museum defended its status as an "Internet celebrity," by selling all of its royal color lipsticks in half a day. The Shanghai Museum released personal hygiene products with peacock and peony patterns from 15th-century Chinese porcelain for overseas markets.
"More designers are getting inspirations from traditional Chinese culture, and rolling out amazingly attractive creative products to win more young fans," said Pan Xian, a young visitor of the expo.
"These products are loved by young people. As designers, we are trying to learn the essence of traditional culture while still using modern life elements," said Gu Yan, a senior designer of visual art at the Shanghai Grand Theatre.
China's cultural creative industry has experienced fast growth over the years, with authorities aiming to make it a pillar industry of the national economy by 2020.
