Along with Tianjin, the Palace Museum unveiled a grand exhibition celebrating the Spring Festival on Jan 7, 2019. The entire Forbidden City was adorned with palace lanterns, new year paintings and spring couplets to create an immersive Spring Festival experience for the visitors. The country's dazzling time-honored brands were displayed in the exhibition.

The so-called time-honored brands, or "laozihao" in Chinese, refer to companies that sell products with famous names and long histories, over 60 percent of which are involved in pharmaceuticals, food and catering.

150 time-honored brands, including five intangible cultural heritage inheritors, from over 10 provinces and cities, including Shandong, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanxi, Jilin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Henan were invited to a gathering show in the Forbidden City.

Tianjin delicacies and specialties such as fried dough twist, honeyed walnut, donkey-hide gelatin, wine, silks and satins, famous tea, enamel painted porcelain, etc. satisfied customers' desire to purchase necessities for the Chinese New Year.

Visitors not only appreciated the special skills and handcrafts and traditional foods of various places, but also acquired historical stories and culture of these brands. 

The exhibits covered 10 categories of crafts including daily necessities, specialties, health food, jewelry, cultural arts and crafts and intangible cultural heritage. 

Tianjin exhibition area was surrounded by crows of tourists. "Our family has a historical relationship with the Forbidden City. To us, it is more accurate to say "back to Forbidden City" than "come to the Forbidden City", since our ancestors were the royal chefs in the Forbidden City for three generations, and after the third generation we left and settled in Tianjin, said Zhang Li, the fifth generation of Guo Renzhang, a traditional old brand of Tianjin.

"Since my grandfather left the Forbidden City, this is the first time that the company has been brought back to the Forbidden City for display." Zhang said, "All the products brought back are made using traditional skills. This exhibition is designated for the inheritance of old brands and the cultural traditions. With the changes of the times, the Forbidden City is also keen to reform, enriching the forms for displaying Chinese culture." 

The family who came to visit from Nanjing bought a lot of nuts and food. "I have heard of Guoren Zhang before, so I have taken this opportunity since I encountered it today. I will buy more and bring it back home with me," Ms. Fei said, "In fact, I am very willing to choose the old-branded product with cultural accumulation."

Chinese Time-honored Brand has become a trusted brand with its long history, inherited from generation to generation, and its distinctive traditional Chinese cultural background and profound cultural heritage. 

Guo Renzhang products [Photo/tjyun.com]

Tianjin exhibition area [Photo/tjyun.com]

Visitors at the Forbidden City  [Photo/tjyun.com]