The Chinese village of Fuli in Sihui city recently started making rounds in the tourism sector due to its ancient practices in paper-making. The old-age technologies in particular are what draws people to village in Guangdong province.
According to China Daily, the history of Fuli village's paper-making art dates back 800 years ago but continues to attract tourists from China and around the world. The small village boasts of over 50 workshops where travelers can learn about the art.
Aside from being a tourist attraction, Fuli is also known for employing people in the area under its archaic paper-making industry. Around 10,000 people working under the sector have found jobs to help support their families.
Tourism has by far helped the most in making Fuli village known in China's tourism belt. Villagers sell the paper they make through olden technologies and methods that make their products more special than the rest.
The biggest part of the sector is the volume of tourists that come yearly to learn more about China's ancient paper-making art. The village posted earnings of over one million yuan annually from travelers who are interested in the art process.
Among the top products that Fuli develops and sends to multiple buyers around the country is the Xuan paper. The said paper is used by art enthusiasts because of the material's durability and water absorption properties.
It is also worth noting that the Chinese village's ancient methods are environment-friendly. The waste water workers use never goes into the Suijiang River, Fuli village's paper-making representative inheritor, Zhang Huangyuan, said.
Industry experts believe that if Fuli can supply demand for Xuan paper and other types of paper in massive volumes annually, the yearly industrial production could reach up to 50 million yuan.
Meanwhile, China's paper-making industry saw good growth during the first nine months of 2019, the latest data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) revealed.
According to Xinhua, China's output on paper increased 2.5 year-on-year during the January to September period. For the month of September, production hiked by 6.4 percent compared to the same month last year.
For the first nine months, a total of 92.88 million tons of paper were produced by Chinese paper-making manufacturers. However, revenue saw a cutback as profits saw a decline of 3.6 percent year-on-year.
Industry analysts predicted that if Fuli village's archaic paper-making art continues to drive tourism in the region, China's paper-making industry as a whole could also see its profits rise in the coming year.
Beijing's ongoing efforts in getting word known about the industry could also help boost interest from buyers around the world. Just recently, the "Chinese Bridge" Chines Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students was held to encourage learning about China's culture.
Among the highlights of the conference was the paper-making show in Sandu Camping Park, wherein students were given a look inside the country's workshops for artful methods in paper manufacturing.
