Museums giving the past a future

Jiang believes ideas, design and reverence are three standards for measuring whether a product is good or not.

A popular product at the Suzhou Museum is its tea gift packages. Cooperating with tea brands, the museum has embedded elements of the city's history and architecture into the design of its products. For instance, the four gifted literati from Suzhou during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)-Tang Bohu, Zhu Zhishan, Wen Zhengming and Xu Zhenqing-are depicted in cartoon form and presented with a story line on the tea packages.

Customer response to the museum's products has been positive. In 2018, sales volume topped 20 million yuan ($3.15 million), and reached 30 million yuan in 2019. According to a report by T-mall in 2018, sales at the Suzhou Museum ranked third that year, after the palace and national museums.