Palace Museum brings its products to Hong Kong for first time in licensing show
The museum is one of the more than 40 companies being led by the Ministry of Culture to join this year's Hong Kong International Licensing Show, organised by the Trade Development Council.
Suitcases featuring the distinctive red gates with lion door knobs seen in Beijing's Forbidden City, ties with swirling clouds inspired by imperial clothing and auspicious Chinese animals atop pencils are some of the new products the Palace Museum is bringing to Hong Kong for the first time.
The museum is one of the more than 40 companies being led by the Ministry of Culture to join this year's Hong Kong International Licensing Show, organised by the Trade Development Council, which opens today.
Yang Xiaobo, the museum's sales management department director, said the Hong Kong show was one of the largest in Asia - and she was there to learn.
"Because on the mainland, licensing [products for business] has just begun … We hope through the licensing show to understand some of the international practice in licensing and at the same time let our friends in the international community learn about our fine and traditional Chinese culture," she said.
The museum has come up with some 6,000 goods - including vases, necklaces, T-shirts and smartphone cases - that feature "elements" of the Forbidden City. It has taken part in other licensing shows on the mainland in the past, where it has had some 1,000 to 2,000 products to display, Yang said.
But the museum only brought about 300 this time because of the smaller venue and strict Hong Kong customs rules.