Beijing cultural gifts prove a big hit

Chang Pengfei was quite excited when his Bluetooth microphone was named one of the most popular gifts on sale in Beijing in late December.

The product combines many Beijing design elements, from Peking Opera facial makeup to Beijing calligraphy.

The microphone can also be connected to a karaoke app and offer its users entertainment.

Chang's product is one of the 12 products voted the most popular gifts in Beijing in late December.

They include artwork, face masks, traditional Chinese liquor and cakes and pastries that all feature distinctive Beijing characteristics.

The event was hosted by the Beijing Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau and received more than 1.58 million votes since mid-October.

The bureau established the Beijing Gifts brand in 2011 with the aim of expressing the culture, tastes and image of Beijing to visitors from far and wide through tourism products.

More than 20 Beijing Gifts shops are currently up and running in the capital where they offer traditional artworks, time-honored brands and souvenirs.

This year's poll has helped boost related business sales by 91.5 million yuan ($13.07 million), an increase of 20 percent year-on-year. A total of 99 enterprises voted in this year's poll.

"We have continued to develop different categories of Beijing souvenirs that cater to different groups of the public over the years," says Wang Yue, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau.

"They have managed to attract the attention of travelers from home and abroad and become really popular," Wang says.

Government departments of various levels have joined forces in launching these Beijing gifts.

The Beijing government pays attention to overall design, including the logos, images and graphic elements that fully display Beijing's culture as an ancient capital, according to Wang.

District tourism entities, such as scenic spots, also rolled out gifts that bear a distinctive charm.

The increasing popularity of Beijing Gifts has also attracted investment from high-tech businesses.

The stores now stock outdoor equipment and sports and leisure wear among the gifts.

Wang says she hopes more designers will join the Beijing Gifts platform and more distributors will pay attention to it.

"There's still room for online sales, and we hope that Beijing Gifts will become a calling card for Chinese and Beijing culture," Wang says.

Chang is planning to add more distinctive Beijing cultural elements to future product ranges. He believes the local touches applied the Bluetooth microphone's enhanced its appearance, and other symbols of Beijing－from vendor's hawking in Beijing hutong, characters from the local dialect and Peking Opera voices could be applied to more gifts in the capital.

"We will develop more in-depth approach to integration in the future," Chang says.