The souvenirs are popular overseas. More than 200 items, including notebooks with covers based on embroidery, as well as tape featuring calligraphy and artwork, appeared at this year's Paperworld, a leading international stationery fair in Frankfurt, Germany.

They were an instant hit, and many international dealers asked to collaborate with the museum. "Promoting Chinese culture worldwide is our duty," Yang said.

The National Museum of China, one of the largest museums in the world, began a similar project in 2011.

The museum has come up with more than 3,000 products, and it had racked up 2.3 billion yuan ($334 million) in souvenir sales as of last year.

"The National Museum aims to serve as a benchmark in commercial creativity for Chinese museums," said Jiang Mingwei, deputy manager of the museum's souvenir department.

The museum is working with the Shanghai Free Trade Zone and e-commerce giant Alibaba to build a platform to design, produce and sell creative souvenirs globally.

"Chinese museums are leading a trend in cultural innovation," Jiang said.

Xinhua