This photo taken on Dec. 25, 2025 shows an interior view of the Hall of Mental Cultivation (Yangxin dian) at the Palace Museum in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai)
BEIJING, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Museums across China launched a series of special events centered around "cultural museum +" during the New Year holiday to blend historical and cultural elements with the festive atmosphere of the new year, making these museums popular attractions for both locals and tourists and fueling sustained growth in the cultural and creative consumer market.
-- Museums hold diverse events to enhance immersive experiences
The Lianyungang Museum in east China's Jiangsu Province held an exploration and creation event around "Fushouxianhuan", a kind of ancient Chinese door-knockers often shaped like animal heads.
These door-knockers serve both as practical handles for opening doors and as symbols believed to ward off evil and attract good fortune. They embody the Chinese people's simple yet profound longing for household peace.
In Beijing, the Dazhongsi Ancient Bell Museum organized a New Year countdown event. Each chime of the Yongle Bell carried people's heartfelt wishes for the new year.
In Xi'an of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, the New Year-series light show activities officially commenced. Using light and shadow as the brush, the activities highlighted the elegance of national treasures, evoked the poetic realm of Tang verses, and presented a luminous feast bridging millennia of cultural heritage with contemporary creativity, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the radiant and poetic atmosphere of a Chang'an-style New Year.
Museum tours are evolving from merely artifact viewing to immersive cultural journeys that blend visual, auditory and interactive experiences. The sense of ceremony and experience is increasingly becoming a key factor for visitors when choosing museums.
-- Boom of museum tours drives cultural tourism development
Vibrant events and diverse exhibitions continue to fuel the nationwide enthusiasm for cultural museum tours.
Leveraging their profound cultural heritage, many traditionally popular museums in northern China remain highly frequented. According to data from the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau, during the New Year holiday, cultural museum institutions in Shaanxi received a total of 1.0578 million visitors. Data from the Culture and Tourism Department of Henan Province showed that museums and memorial halls across the province recorded 1.168 million visitors during the holiday.
Echoing the popularity of museums in northern China, museum tourism in southern China stands out for its distinctive themes, refined offerings, and deeply immersive experiences. During the New Year holiday, museums and memorial halls in Chongqing launched over 100 special temporary exhibitions, thematic guided tours, and other activities, attracting a total of 372,100 visitors, a year-on-year increase of 19 percent.
Eighty key public cultural institutions in south China's Guangdong Province received 778,000 visitors. Special exhibitions such as the New Year-themed exhibition and the VR adventure experience exhibition at the Fujian Museum, as well as the exhibition of antiquities from ancient Syria at the Xiamen Museum, also attracted large numbers of visitors.
Notably, the "museum boom" is breaking through the geographical and market boundaries of traditional first-tier tourist cities, with museums in non-traditional popular destinations also having their moment in the spotlight.
According to data from the Hohhot Municipal Bureau of Culture, Tourism, Radio, Film and Television, the city's museums received a total of 184,000 visitors during the holiday. Data from the Taiyuan Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics shows that museums directly affiliated with the bureau welcomed 105,200 visitors during the New Year holiday, a remarkable year-on-year increase of 199.45 percent, with the ticket revenue reaching 1.6596 million yuan, soaring by 307.91 percent year on year.
-- Featured products in cultural and creative stores gain popularity
Alongside the cultural museum boom, the popularity of cultural and creative products continues to rise. Blending cultural depth with practicality, these products are increasingly becoming a vital link between museums and consumers through both online and offline channels.
At a cultural and creative store on the first floor of the Lianyungang Museum, items such as canvas bags and postcards themed around the local culture, along with badges, refrigerator magnets, and plush toys inspired by the characters from Journey to the West, are winning consumers over with their unique designs and strong local flavor.
Moreover, museum cultural and creative products themselves are becoming unique motivators for visits and "mobile cultural classrooms". For some tourists, "traveling with refrigerator magnets" has become a new trend.
To enhance the consumer experience, some museums cleverly combine products with knowledge -- for instance, attaching information such as the era, design, and excavation date of the cultural relic prototypes next to refrigerator magnets. This allows visitors to embark on a "journey through time and space" while making a purchase, combining the joys of shopping with the rewards of learning.
Beyond offline cultural and creative stores, online platforms have become essential channels for consumers to purchase museum products. On social media, IPs related to the "horse" theme are trending, with products like figurines, plush ornaments, and jewelry gaining sustained popularity on e-commerce platforms due to their auspicious meanings and appealing designs.
The "cultural museum +" trend during the New Year holiday goes beyond simple sightseeing and check-ins. It represents a comprehensive craze centered around museums, deeply integrating knowledge acquisition, cultural immersion, and emotional consumption.
As innovation in formats continues to evolve, "cultural museum +" will further unleash the dual vitality of culture and consumption, emerging as a significant force driving the consumption upgrade.
(Edited by Gu Shanshan with Xinhua Silk Road, gushanshan.1987@163.com)
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