A cultural paper trail

New vitality

The Xuan paper industry has seen steady development in Jingxian. Last year, about 500 metric tons of Xuan paper were produced in the county, and more than 30,000 local people are engaged with the industry.

Some younger people also play their role in this traditional industry, like Guan Jiaming, 33, who has been engaged with laozhi for more than a decade. "The traditional craft of making Xuan paper cannot be replaced by machines, and every day when I work, I feel like I'm passing on the precious craft with my hands," says Guan.

The local government is building a Xuan paper cultural park and a Xuan paper town to develop cultural tourism.

Since 2008, Tang has been carrying out field surveys with his team to check the condition of handmade paper workshops across China, and visited more than 500 papermaking workshops in over 300 villages.