China Xuan Paper Company Group (subordinate name: Jing County Xuan Paper Mill, Anhui Province) is located in Anhui Province’s Jing County—the world-famous hometown of Xuan Paper. Established in the year of 1951, the Group has developed into China’s largest Xuan Paper making enterprise, the national model attraction of tourist industry, and the national advanced unit of promoting ethical and cultural progress as well. It is also the provincial key enterprise of earning foreign exchange through export, and the key unit of Xuan Paper tourism and souvenirs.
The ‘Red Star’ Xuan Paper is produced by China Xuan Paper Company Group in accordance with the national standard of GB18739-2002. As a traditional handicraft product, it demonstrates the harmonious blend of artistic quality and Chinese painting and calligraphy rich in national traits. With the qualities of being smooth and glossy while not being moth-eaten and decomposed, it enjoys a high reputation of ‘Paper of Ages’ and continues to be the valuable treasure for practicing painting and calligraphy and the high-quality paper for printing classic works and high-grade files and documents. Ex-President Jiang Zemin ever inscribed ‘Inherit splendid culture and Enhance Chinese civilization’ for our company and instructed that the Xuan Paper making handicraft should be inherited from generation to generation. The famous Chinese writer Guo Moruo also wrote the following words of praise as ‘Xuan Paper is the artistic creation of the Chinese working people, without which the Chinese painting and calligraphy will have no way to demonstrate their charm.’
The ‘Red Star’ paper is the only brand of Xuan Paper that wins three successive national gold prizes of quality in 1979, 1984 and 1989. In 1981, it was privileged to be exempt from inspection. In 1994, the Group was appraised as the National Enterprise of Best Quality by the National Technical Supervision Bureau. In 1999, the brand of ‘Red Star’ Xuan Paper was approved as the National Famous Trademark by the Trademark Section of the National Administrative Bureau for Industry and Commerce. In 2006, it was ratified as China’s Time-Honored Brand of the first group. Meanwhile, Xuan Paper is China’s protected product of origin and the national intangible cultural heritage.
The paper products of ‘Red Star’ can be categorized as hay paper, bark paper, and special bark paper, according to raw materials; as single-layer paper, double-layer paper, and triple-layer paper, according to thickness; as 4-chi paper (1 chi=1/3 meter), 5-chi paper, 6-chi paper, 8-chi paper, 1-zhang-2-chi paper (1 zhang=3.3333 meters) 1-zhang-6-chi paper, and 1-zhang-8-chi paper (Sandalwood Paper), 2-zhang paper (Millennium Paper, ranked in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest hand-made paper), and various other specifications as well, according to size; as single-thread paper, double-thread paper, screw-thread paper, and moire-thread paper, etc. according to veins. Besides, the Shu Xuan paper (processed paper) has more than 60 varieties of products, including Yuban (jade-white) paper, Chanyi (cicada slough) paper, Yunmu (mica) paper, Bingxue (ice and snow) paper, Zhuchui (boiled and hammered) paper, and Sajin (spraying gold foil) paper, etc. The Xuan Paper products cover a complete range of specifications, including albums of painting and calligraphy, albums of seal impressions, letter papers, pseudo-archaic antithetical couplets, and high-ranking folding fans, etc., all of which have ready markets home and abroad. These products are not only enjoyed by the customers, but also standing high in the collectors’ favor owing to their great value of collection.