In 2009, Wang Guanliang and her colleagues－editors at the Forbidden City Publishing House in Beijing－attended a lecture on publications from the 1930s.

Perhaps the one that impressed them the most was the Palace Museum's calendar of 1937, the last one published since the Forbidden City started making such calendars in 1932.

After getting the opportunity to borrow the calendar from the museum's library and examine it further, they proposed to resume publishing the annual calendar.

"Because time was limited－and to pay homage to older-generation experts－we decided to reproduce the 1937 edition, keeping the design and all the photos of the historical relics in it," Wang says.

"But, in addition to updating the information for the dates, we also made some changes to the cover, such as using red cloth stamped with golden characters."

As electronic devices became commonplace, calendars mainly became perfunctory gifts given to business partners or benefits for employees, especially those in State-run companies and governmental bodies.

As a result, the print run of the palace's 2010 calendar was a cautious 18,000 copies. But they sold out.

In the five years following that initial foray, Wang and her colleagues started to get a little more creative with the formats. Since 2012, for instance, all the photos have been printed in full color.

More importantly, that year, they started using the zodiac animal of the year as the theme.

For example, 2013 was the Year of the Snake, but there were few relics pertaining to snakes in the Palace Museum. However, ancient literati believed snakes live comfortably in lush greenery in the hot and wet fourth lunar month that's often referred to as "the month of the snake".

So, they thought outside the box.

The theme focused on literati's dreams about the poetry of life in nature. The Palace Museum's calendar that year presented grass, trees, mountains and rivers represented in ancient paintings, bric-a-brac and other wares.

Wang and her colleagues' innovative approach to the traditional calendar－the fine design, fresh, rich and interesting information about ancient China, and exquisite printing and binding－won the Palace Museum's Calendar an increasing number of readers.

The sales climbed from 18,000 copies for the 2010 edition to 80,000 for 2013's.

At the end of October 2013, the Central Committee of Discipline Inspection released a notice, banning State-owned enterprises and governments from using government funds to buy calendars or New Year postcards. It struck a heavy blow to the dying industry.

But it also brought opportunities.

Better-designed calendars with diverse themes have started appearing in the market since 2014. The most successful ones creatively combine tradition with modern tastes.

In February 2015, Chang Mengran an editor of the WeChat account of One Way Street Bookstore, thought of a way to update the daily electronic magazine during the Spring Festival. She picked a quote from a classical literary work, nonfiction book, movie or song every day and presented it in the traditional format of the huangli, or the royal almanac in ancient times.

Chang summarized the quote of the day with a word and framed it as, "It's a good (or bad day) to …", underneath which the quote was placed as the explanation. Ancient Chinese would refer to huangli to guide such decisions as when they should host weddings or perform funeral rites, or start long journeys.

The editorial team at One Way Street Bookstore decided to make a printed version at the end of 2015. They carefully selected 366 quotes from more than 10,000, confirmed their attributions and matched them with the best summaries.

"Ancient almanacs had very sophisticated systems that reflected ordinary people's customs developed over thousands of years. This highly efficient system not only carried the complexity of traditional culture but also presented a benign interaction between users and calendars," says Zhang Fan, one of the designers.

"Young people have abandoned the system. Its value has been underestimated."

Hence, the Owspace Desk Calender is called the "young people's old huangli".

Its creators also designed an Owspace Calendar App that allows readers access to recommended extended readings.

The 2016 Owspace Desk Calendar sold 70,000 copies, which more than doubled to 150,000 the next year, and doubled again to 300,000 copies for the 2018 edition.

The 2017 edition won a Reddot Award for "its successful combination of classical tradition and modern technology". The jury praised "its tidy and clear design".

Apart from the its aesthetics, thoughts-of-the-day and traditional elements, the useful information these calendars provide also attracts buyers.

This year, Cheers Publishing Corp cooperated with dxy.com, a website that popularizes medical knowledge, to make the Health Calendar 2019, the third edition of its kind.

Each page presents a "truth", followed by a detailed explanation.

For example, on April 7, 2019, World Health Day, the calendar states that "underpants should be changed every day" and offers a detailed explanation: "Underpants house many bacteria that will increase with time … It doesn't count if you wear the same pair inside out".

With these "truths", producers hope to correct common mistakes and debunk spurious homespun remedies. For instance, it explains that "bananas will aggravate constipation rather than alleviate it" and that "rubbing ginger on your scalp will not make hair grow".

The 2019 edition has already sold over 150,000 copies.

Another major player in the market is the Plants and Animals Calendar created by Guokr, a company that popularizes science among youth in interesting and different ways.

It has been making calendars for the past five years with such themes as "species in Chinese cities that are usually overlooked" in 2015, "species on our table" in 2016 and "species in cities around the world" in 2019.

More than 820,000 copies of the Palace Museum Calendar 2019 have been sold. Owspace Desk Calendar 2019 sold more than 110,000 copies by November.

"The return of calendars' popularity shows that, as people's lives improve, they want quality products that are beautiful and useful," says Wang Guanliang.