Hengyang – a city steeped in paper-making tradition

One of the four great inventions of ancient China—paper-making—has been practiced in Cai Lun’s hometown of Hengyang, Hunan province, for more than 2,000 years.

In 105, Cai Lun, an official in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) , produced the world’s first paper suitable for writing on, known as Caihou Paper, using plant fibers. This groundbreaking invention profoundly influenced the course of world civilization. After returning to his hometown of Leiyang, a county-level city in Hengyang, he passed on the paper-making technique to local people, laying the foundation for the region’s millennia-long paper-making industry. The craft of bamboo paper production has since been recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage.