Huang Hongjian (C) and his wife Lai Lifang (L) show a visitor different types of paper they made at Huang's studio in Kaihua County of Quzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Nov. 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang)

Almost extinct, the traditional skills of making Kaihua paper, a kind of thin and enduring paper according to historical accounts, are now regaining vitality.

Huang Hongjian, a 50-year-old farmer born in Kaihua, has been endeavoring to revitalize the skills since 2010 when he set out on a journey of visiting papermaking workshops and reading historical and technical books, trying to decode the making of Kaihua paper.

With the support from Fudan University and local government, he finally managed to produce high-quality paper by the end of 2016. Since then, 20 varieties of handmade papers have been developed, meeting the need of ancient book restoring, reprinting, etc.

Huang is now working on the setting of technical details for production on a larger scale. "Modern technology and traditional craftsmanship need to be combined to enhance the production of high-quality paper," he said, "and I still have a lot of work to do."

Huang Hongjian piles up the raw material for papermaking at his studio in Kaihua County of Quzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Nov. 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang)

Huang Hongjian (R) and his son Huang Xinkang check the pulp used to make paper at his studio in Kaihua County of Quzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Nov. 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang)

Huang Hongjian (R) and his son Huang Xinkang check the pulp used to make paper at his studio in Kaihua County of Quzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Nov. 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang)

Huang Hongjian shows production notes he made on a type of paper at his studio in Kaihua County of Quzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Nov. 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang)

Huang Hongjian (R) shows a visitor the details of the paper he made at his studio in Kaihua County of Quzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Nov. 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang)