A group of European travel agents recently turned cultural explorers in Yunnan Province's Yuhu Village, where they encountered the world's oldest handmade paper – the legendary Naxi Dongba paper. This 1,200-year-old craft, preserved by the Naxi ethnic group, uses local plants and traditional methods passed through generations 🍃📜.
"It's like touching history," said one delegate, as artisans demonstrated paper-making techniques unchanged since the Tang Dynasty. Recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage, Dongba paper remains vital for recording the Naxi's pictographic Dongba script – often called the "last living hieroglyphs."
With sustainable tourism booming in 2025, this discovery highlights China's lesser-known cultural gems. Travel planners are now brainstorming ways to responsibly share this living tradition with global wanderers ✈️💡.
