Huang Hongjian, an inheritor of the traditional Kaihua paper making skill, takes eight years to restore the long lost old handicraft. [Photo/qz96811.com]

A screen in a man's hand moved slightly across the surface of water to fish up the paper pulp in it, and then a piece of rough Kaihua paper – the best hand-made paper in China – took shape right before him.

The man is Huang Hongjian, an inheritor of the traditional Kaihua paper making skill, who has taken eight years to restore the long lost handicraft.

Huang used to manage a restaurant in Kaihua where he vacated a room to serve as a calligraphy studio to entertain his art circle friends.

The friends frequently mentioned Kaihua paper in their talks, which inspired Huang, a man from a papermaking family, to dedicate himself to restoring the lost handicraft.

After reading historical materials about Kaihua paper, Huang visited all the elder paper makers living around Kaihua county to collect information about paper making in ancient Kaihua.

In early 2012, Huang and his wife sold their restaurant to settle down to study how to make Kaihua paper in the old traditional way.

In late 2013, the couple's story caught the attention of the local government and the Kaihua Paper Traditional Making Skill Research Center was set up to invite more experts to be part of Huang's work.

In 2015, Yang Yuliang, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and former president of Fudan University, brought his ancient books protection team to join the center.

Two years later, the center had produced a sample of Kaihua paper, which is capable of surviving 2,825 years, making its lengthy lifespan no longer a legend.

According to the Protection Plan for Ancient Chinese Books, China has roughly 50 million ancient books and most of them are in dire need of repairing and reprinting.

Kaihua paper is one of the best choices for ancient book repair.

Historical records say that Kaihua paper was also called Teng paper and Taohua (Peach Blossom) paper. With refined and stiff texture and jade-like gloss, Kaihua paper was the most expensive court-book paper in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasties (1644-1911).