The time-honored brands on Liulichang, a famed antique street in Beijing known for its hundreds-of-years-old shops selling ancient books, calligraphy, ink stones and rubbings are seeking to boost their shrinking business by going online.

Beijing Jingdu Culture Investment Co officially launched an online shopping website selling Liulichang goods on Thursday, said Wang Changli, the company's general manager.

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Located south of Hepingmen Gate, Liulichang used to be a favorite place of scholars, painters and art lovers, and was consequently a flourishing culture center, in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

But as the time passed, problems for Liulichang began to surface, as many of its businesses and time-honored brands operate separately on a small scale, rendering them uncompetitive in the modern marketplace, according to Wang.

The Internet could give these time-honored brands a new chance, because their customer base will be enlarged from Beijingers and a few tourists to people all over world.

The local government named Liulichang as one of the city's official 'cultural and creative art zones' in April 2008, and at the moment, there are 411 businesses in the area. The 50 major businesses and time-honored brands have combined total sales of 1.5 billion yuan each year, generating annual profits of 420 million yuan, according to Wang.

More than 20 Liulichang businesses sold their goods through the website during the site's two-month trial run, according to Wang.

Yu Tianying, general manager of Daiyuexuan, one of the time-honored brands in Liulichang, known for selling ink and brushes, told METRO that her business once cooperated with some e-commerce websites but it did not go well.

The credibility of an e-commerce website is a big issue both for the participating businesses and consumers, according to Yu, who added she has confidence in the new website, which carries the Liulichang name.

"Every day of the past two month, we received online orders," she told METRO.

E-commerce is developing rapidly in China, but online sales of traditional Chinese products, such as those sold in Liulichang are low, said Wang Juntao, an e-commerce expert.

But such products seem to be drawing more interest from foreigners as their overall interest toward China grows, he added. "There is still a lot of potential in it," said Wang.

China Daily