Guangxing Paper Mill

Guangxing Paper Mill is the only surviving handmade paper factory in Taiwan. In 1990, as the industry declined, it transformed into a tourist factory, discovering and utilizing the cultural and historical significance of handmade papermaking beyond mere “production.” This was then converted into guided tours and experiential courses, allowing the public, through tourism or educational field trips, to understand the historical context and humanistic spirit of handmade paper. Opened to the public in 1995, for 30 years Guangxing Paper Mill has deeply rooted itself in the education, promotion, and experience of Taiwanese handmade paper craftsmanship. In addition to daily factory tours, held every 30 minutes, which allow visitors to witness the actual production process of handmade paper, there are also DIY experience classrooms where people can make paper by hand and create cultural products such as night lights, paper messages, and commemorative handprints. Furthermore, in recent years, it has launched in-depth one-day workshops, combining with different crafts or deeply exploring a specific aspect of handmade paper production, thereby making the tourist experience richer and more extensive. At the same time, Guangxing Paper Mill has also deeply explored the cultural and artistic value of handmade paper itself. In the past, Taiwanese handmade paper was primarily produced as “practice” paper for calligraphy and painting, mainly using wood pulp. However, it could not compete with the mass-produced, low-priced mechanical papers in the market. To address this, Guangxing's second-generation owner collaborated with artists, dedicating efforts to produce high-grade calligraphy and painting papers primarily made from mulberry (chushu) and Daphne (yanshu) trees. Although the production process for these papers is very difficult, their ink absorption and rendering effects are mellow and gentle, and they can be preserved for a long time, possessing characteristics irreplaceable by machine-made paper. Therefore, Mr. Huang (the owner) targeted these types of papers, repeatedly improving and customizing production based on artists' feedback. Gradually, Guangxing Paper Mill developed nearly a hundred types of high-grade calligraphy and painting papers and created “paper lineages” recording the name of every master craftsman involved in each step of production. This ensures that the history of every sheet of paper can be traced and connects each papermaking technician with the user. This philosophy has not only gained recognition from many artists, helping Guangxing's papers gradually establish a firm footing in Taiwan's calligraphy and painting circles, but also received approval from various restoration units, which use Guangxing-produced papers as materials for cultural artifact restoration. Through this product-oriented transformation, the market positioning for handmade paper was found, preserving the most crucial production lines, and simultaneously, while promoting tourism, safeguarding and enhancing the techniques and essence of papermaking craftsmanship. Beyond tourism development and the advancement of traditional calligraphy and painting papers, Guangxing Paper Mill has also extensively explored more possibilities for handmade paper. In 2011 (the 100th year of the Republic of China), it initiated the creation of the “Natural Fiber Creative Repository,” comprising a hundred types of paper. During the process of developing these hundred papers, many local surplus materials were used, such as sugarcane bagasse paper made from bagasse obtained from local farmers, “Treasure Paper” crafted from the husks of Puli's famous water bamboo (jiaobaisun), or onion skin paper developed in collaboration with the Checheng Farmers' Association in Pingtung. Many of these surplus materials came from resources discovered through cooperation and exchange with local farmers. The unveiling of these hundred fiber papers received a significant response in the industry, subsequently attracting more diverse cross-industry collaborations, where businesses from various sectors provided surplus resources, which were then transformed into paper and cultural-creative products using handmade papermaking techniques. Such diverse collaborations allow a single sheet of handmade paper to not only carry the cultural significance of the craft itself but also become a vehicle for local humanistic stories, enabling the sustainable development of handmade paper.