There's a museum on the Chinese mainland set up in former imperial residences, and we are not talking about the world-famous Forbidden City in Beijing. The Palace Museum in Shenyang, a city in northeastern Liaoning Province, celebrated the 95th anniversary of its founding on Tuesday.

The palace, built between the 17th and 18th centuries, mirrors the founding stage of China's last imperial dynasty of Qing (1644-1911), which later moved the capital to Beijing.

The 400-year-old palace covering 60,000 square meters is home to 114 well-maintained ancient constructions. Some of the buildings, such as the Dazheng Hall, the Qingning Palace and the Fenghuang Tower, carry unique characteristics of Chinese imperial architecture.

The site was converted to a museum in 1926 and opened to the public in 1929. Its architectural and historical importance has since been widely recognized and it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.

The museum has ushered in a new era of development in recent years, the museum's curator Li Shengneng said. It has over 50 exhibition halls that are open to the public, according to Li. 

Meanwhile, cultural and creative products launched by the museum have been well received among consumers. They include beverages and snacks, as well as replicas of cultural relics.

Product sales at the museum surpassed 1.25 million yuan ($195,750) during this year's five-day May Day holiday, an increase of 150 percent compared with the same period in 2019.

(With input from Xinhua)