Xuan Paper Culture Park

　　    Xuan Paper Culture Park is located in Jing County, Anhui Province, and is composed of seven parts: an ancient Xuan paper workshop, a Four Treasures of the Study experience park, an exhibition hall for Xuan paper and world papers, an art gallery (including artists’ studios), a market for the Four Treasures of the Study and calligraphy & painting works, as well as a traditional book printing and Jiangnan folklore park.

　　    The Xuan Paper Culture Park has a total investment of approximately 25 million yuan and covers an area of nearly 40,000 square meters. Visitors to the park can not only observe the ancient handcrafting techniques of Xuan paper that have been passed down for over a thousand years and learn about the making of paper, ink, brushes, inkstones, fans, and paper screens, but also personally try their hand at crafting these items.

　　    Jing County is known as the hometown of Chinese Xuan paper. In 2006, the “art of Xuan paper making” was approved by the State Council as part of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The materials used for Xuan paper differ from those of ordinary paper. It is primarily made from blue sandalwood bark, with a key ingredient being rice straw from sandy fields, complemented by the unique mountain spring water of Jing County. The craftsmanship is highly intricate, and the resulting paper is as thin as cicada wings and as smooth as clouds. It boasts properties such as toughness, pure whiteness, fine density, a glossy yet non-slip surface, tightly woven texture with light permeability, as well as resistance to decay and insects, strong ink absorption, and durability. Ideal for both calligraphy and painting, it can be preserved for a long time, earning the reputation of “a paper that lasts a thousand years,” and is greatly favored by painters and calligraphers.

　　    Guo Moruo, a renowned Chinese writer and historian, once said: “Xuan paper is an artistic creation invented by the Chinese working people. Without it, the subtlety of Chinese calligraphy and painting could not be expressed.”

　　    Xuan paper is a traditional classical Chinese paper used for painting and calligraphy, and is one of the classic papermaking crafts of the Han Chinese. Originating in the Tang Dynasty and continuing through the ages, it is praised as having “a lifespan of a thousand years” due to its preservability, durability without becoming brittle, and resistance to fading.

　　    Xuan paper is divided into raw paper and processed paper based on production methods. After undergoing the final “baking” process, the nature of the paper (its quality and ink color effect) is largely determined. This finished paper, which undergoes “no further processing that affects its nature,” is referred to as raw Xuan paper.

　　    Processed paper refers to any paper that has undergone secondary alterations to its surface properties or visual appearance—excluding mere size trimming—such as printing, alum sizing, or polishing. Additionally, Xuan paper is categorized by its ink absorption into raw Xuan, semi-processed Xuan, and processed Xuan. Raw Xuan is used for calligraphy and freehand brushwork paintings, while processed Xuan is used for detailed gongbi paintings.