The "Taoxue Penguins" from Harbin Polar Park, the "Green Horse – Success at Sight" gift box from Gansu Provincial Museum, canvas bags inspired by the toothy Bodhisattva at Huayan Temple in the Ancient City of Datong, and distinctive cultural and creative fridge magnets from across the country. Did any of these viral cultural IPs make it into your suitcase on the return trip from the holiday?

During the just-concluded National Day holiday, cultural IPs once again fueled a boom turning emotional value into tangible consumption. This trend, seen in the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, serves as a vivid illustration of "leveraging culture to empower economic and social development."

As many observers have noted, cultural IPs are evolving from "single hit products" toward scenario-based and integrated development. This National Day holiday, a trendy toy brand set up a nearly 3,000-square-meter exhibition space, transforming its toy characters into immersive, visitable scenarios. A beverage brand integrated drink consumption with ancient-style check-ins and cultural-and-creative merchandise shopping, driving a marked rise in foot traffic for surrounding merchants. Visitors are no longer satisfied with simply buying souvenirs; they are willing to pay for immersive experiences. Such business model innovations not only demonstrate huge potential for new consumption scenarios but also create new communication carriers for fine traditional Chinese culture. They embody the guideline in the 15th Five-Year Plan Outline to "actively promote the integrated development of multiple business forms" in cultural tourism consumption.

A cultural and creative ornament, a themed badge or an IP doll may cost little in raw materials, yet they carry historical heritage, emotional resonance and aesthetic value that ordinary industrial goods cannot match. Take the phoenix crown fridge magnet from the National Museum of China as an example. Launched in 2024, its sales exceeded 3.4 million units by July this year. It has driven over 70 related cultural and creative items under the phoenix crown series to rack up total sales of more than 300 million yuan, setting a sales record for single items and series products in the museum’s nearly 20-year history. How can a fridge magnet priced at dozens of yuan generate a business worth hundreds of millions? Consumers put it simply: "It’s worth the money. I feel much closer to the cultural relic."

That is the premium formula of cultural IPs. What consumers buy is not merely merchandise, but "the places I have visited" and "the culture I identify with." It also reflects a shift in domestic consumption from basic function-oriented spending to spending that satisfies spiritual demands. This shift is pushing industrial upgrading and enriching the supply of cultural products.

In-depth development of cultural IP value is emerging as a new growth point for integrated development between cultural industries and the real economy. The new Sanxingdui Museum in Guanghan, Sichuan, receives more than 6 million visitors annually, with yearly cultural and creative sales topping 200 million yuan. The spillover effect was especially prominent this National Day holiday. The "Bronze Chirp" dolls sold roughly 800 pieces per day, with cumulative online sales exceeding 300,000 since launch. Guanghan also rolled out over 20 events including the Mask Culture Week, attracting more than 150,000 participants. A total of over 3 million yuan in consumption vouchers were distributed, spurring nearly 100 million yuan in consumption.

Evidently, a successful cultural IP generates commercial value on its own and drives coordinated growth across manufacturing, retail, tourism, logistics and other sectors, forming a complete chain from cultural appeal and tourist gathering to consumption stimulation and economic expansion. This is the real-world practice of integrated development under the model of "culture and tourism plus all industries" and "all industries plus culture and tourism."

Reports from relevant institutions forecast that China’s cultural and creative market will exceed 10 trillion yuan by the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan period. From a single cultural IP to a full industrial chain, from a holiday hotspot to a fresh economic growth engine, the 15th Five-Year Plan Outline’s vision of "leveraging culture to empower economic and social development" is steadily turning into reality.

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