Papermakers set to write new survival story

The industry is in flux as machines replace manual production methods, lowering both prices and quality. Zhu Lixin reports from Hefei.

In February, Yang Hongwei posted a video on his WeChat Moments feed that showed his grandfather leading a group of papermakers, including Yang, in singing a traditional song to help maintain energy levels as they pulped bamboo to make paper.

In 2006, Yang's grandfather was recognized as the sole national inheritor of a traditional method of making paper from bamboo that was developed in Jiajiang, Sichuan province, centuries ago.