The Forbidden City’s cute dolls sell for 1 billion a year. Why did the Forbidden City become online celebrity？

　　Yesterday, at the event site, just point your mobile phone at Han Xizai’s banquet in the exhibition area, and the moving expression pack will appear in front of the mobile phone screen. Beijing Morning Post reporter Shi Chunyang/photo

　　The Forbidden City’s cute dolls sell 1 billion a year, and the cute expression packs are used nearly 40 million times in less than a month.

　　The 600-year-old Forbidden City has changed, becoming younger, more fashionable and more "scientific and technological". Whether it’s the "cute doll" of the Forbidden City that sells 1 billion a year, or the "big copper jar" that is not noticed in the corner, or the newly-appointed "online celebrity" Forbidden City security guard "Forbidden City Cat". In recent years, the Forbidden City seems to be growing backwards, becoming younger and warmer, and becoming more and more popular among young people.

　　Yesterday, a series of emoticons based on the classic IP of the Forbidden City attracted the attention of reporters. According to reports, these QQ emoticons with the theme of the Forbidden City were launched less than a month ago, and the usage was close to 40 million times.

　　Newly popular emoticons: Han Xizai, "Big Copper Cylinder"

　　At the award ceremony of the NEXT IDEA Tencent Innovation Competition held yesterday afternoon, a series of expression packs based on the classic IP of the Forbidden City attracted the attention of the Beijing Morning Post reporter. Just point your mobile phone at Han Xizhai’s banquet or the picture of the big bronze cylinder in the exhibition area, and the moving expression pack will appear in front of the mobile phone screen. The person in charge of Tencent told the Beijing Morning Post that these QQ expressions with the theme of the Forbidden City have been online for less than a month, and the usage is close to 40 million times.

　　In July this year, NEXT IDEA and the Palace Museum announced the establishment of a partnership and long-term cooperation. In the first year of cooperation, the Palace Museum opened a series of classic IP, collecting "expression design" and "game creativity" among young people. In terms of expression design, the contestants used the classic IP of the Forbidden City as the material, combined with social elements, and created cute expressions with different styles and different themes, such as "The Emperor is Busy", "Door Sea" and "Q Edition Han Xizai".

　　In addition to the traditional images of ladies-in-waiting and emperors, a large yellow copper cylinder attracted the attention of the audience. Lou Wei, vice president of the Palace Museum, told the Beijing Morning Post that the scientific name of this big copper cylinder is "Menhai", which was mainly used for fire fighting in the Forbidden City. However, compared with the resplendent palaces and other "treasures" in the Forbidden City, the big copper cylinder seems a little lonely and few people pay attention to it. "We finally gave this design a special award to encourage young people to notice these historical corners, which are also part of the Forbidden City."

　　Rejecting "High Cold": Paying Equal Attention to Adornment and Elegance

　　Lou Wei told the Beijing Morning Post that in 2017, NEXT IDEA will dig deeper into the value of the IP of the Forbidden City in the two fields of "architectural culture" and "traditional costume culture" of the Palace Museum. For example, in the field of "traditional costume culture", we will try to combine Tencent’s "Miracle Warming", a dress-changing game with tens of millions of young users, to open a special section of the traditional costumes of the Forbidden City, and present the exquisite palace costumes and accessories collected in the Forbidden City and the rich connotations behind them to young people in a more interesting, vivid and elegant way through games.

　　"Tencent is 18 years old and the Forbidden City is almost 600 years old. We hope that the Forbidden City not only has the maturity, stability and wisdom of the elderly, but also has young creativity, even childlike innocence and childlike interest. " Lou Wei said that the daily launch of the Forbidden City, the Forbidden City exhibition and other apps allows users to enjoy the treasures of the Forbidden City at close range without leaving home, and the lively and grounded style of WeChat official account, the new media of the Forbidden City, has also gained a group of die-hard fans. "We hope that every member of the public will bring the Forbidden City culture to their side. We have launched the game of the Forbidden City Adventure, which can turn Gao Leng into a big friend that children like."

　　■ Noun explanation

　　IP

　　"IP" is the abbreviation of "Intellectual Property" in English, which means intellectual property. The common operation mode in the cultural industry is the development of various types of copyright, such as film copyright, TV drama copyright and online game copyright. As a world-class cultural treasure house, the Forbidden City itself contains rich cultural resources. In recent years, with the development of the Forbidden City itself in the cultural and creative industries, there are more and more film and television works and animation games involving the intellectual property rights of the Forbidden City elements, and the Forbidden City itself has become a "super IP".

　　■ Visit immediately.

　　The Forbidden City, a super IP, is becoming a new online celebrity, selling 1 billion yuan a year. What is the story behind the "cute doll" of the Forbidden City? How did the Forbidden City security guard "Forbidden City Cat" become online celebrity? What are the high-tech means for the restoration of cultural relics in the Forbidden City? How to shoot the breathtaking snow scene of the Forbidden City? How can I work in the Forbidden City team?

　　Yesterday, the Wenchuang team of the Forbidden City accepted an exclusive interview with the Beijing Morning Post reporter to reveal the secret of the popularity of the "online celebrity" Forbidden City.

　　1 How did the Forbidden City cats become popular?

　　Lou Wei (Vice President of the Palace Museum): The popularity of cats in the Forbidden City is inseparable from the cat lovers in the Forbidden City and the promotion of Dean Shan. There have always been a lot of cats in the Forbidden City, which used to be fed by staff. Tourists feel very cute when they see cats, and they are willing to take pictures and touch them. To some extent, it is a natural result that the Forbidden City cats become online celebrity, because people and animals get along well with the environment, which has always been the atmosphere of the Forbidden City. In recent years, the Forbidden City has become a "cultural and creative industry". Dean Shan once mentioned the Forbidden City cat in an interview, saying that it has made great contributions, and the image of the Forbidden City cat has been further established, which naturally becomes a new symbol of the Forbidden City.

　　Why are the official photos produced by the Forbidden City so beautiful? What is the secret?

　　Yu Zhuang (head of new media in the information department of the Palace Museum): It is common to smear the early morning, and it is also common to go to the palace late at night and wait for the moon. Many people say that I can’t take such beautiful photos. In fact, every photo is inseparable from the difficult posture of the photographer in the Forbidden City. The perspective behind these lenses gives people a strong appeal. In fact, the photographer is also a way to represent the innovation of the Forbidden City, conveying temperature and beauty.

　　How can I work in the Forbidden City?

　　Lou Wei (Vice President of the Palace Museum): In recent years, the talent team in the Forbidden City has become younger and younger, and more and more young people love the Forbidden City and are willing to join it. There are 70 or 80 fresh graduates every year, more than half of them are masters and doctors, and there are more and more majors. Different majors inspire more cultures. The needs of the Forbidden City are very diverse, such as news dissemination, art design and photography, all of which are compound talents. Official website in the Forbidden City has put up a job advertisement now, hoping that more and more young people will join our big family.

　　4 Will the Forbidden City only sell Meng?

　　Lou Wei (Vice President of the Palace Museum): Actually, the Palace Museum has been walking on two legs. Some are very cute and some are very elegant, and both aspects will be taken into account.

　　Su Yi (Deputy Director of the Information Department of the Palace Museum): The big bronze cylinder and the maid-in-waiting empress are actually part of the Palace Museum. Perhaps because of the film and television drama, it is particularly easy for everyone to immerse themselves in the emperor and empress. In fact, the corners of history are also part of the Forbidden City. In the past, young people’s understanding of the Forbidden City remained superficial, but after their field visits, they discovered more cultural relics and connotations of the Forbidden City.

　　5 "I am repairing cultural relics in the Forbidden City" Why do you want to make a movie?

　　Lou Wei (Vice President of the Palace Museum): Movies are a new attempt, which is good for promoting the Forbidden City and spreading its culture. We can all accept new things, and there will be more ways in the future. High-tech technology will definitely be applied to the restoration of cultural relics in the Forbidden City in the future. In the documentary "I am repairing cultural relics in the Forbidden City", our little colleagues used Google glasses for recording, and more modern detection and analysis methods will be used in the Forbidden City in the future.

　　What more creative products will there be next year?

　　Lou Wei (Vice President of the Palace Museum): Next year, the Palace Museum will open more resources to allow more young people to exert their creativity. The Forbidden City also hopes to cooperate with more excellent enterprises. The Forbidden City has always cooperated with an open mind. The resources of the Forbidden City are really rich. I hope more enterprises will join in and brainstorm and do better and better.

　　This edition is written by Beijing Morning Post reporter Han Yuanjia.