How is rice paper made?

Xuan paper is developed on the basis of long-term papermaking with plant fibers. Its main raw materials are celadon bark and straw.

The traditional method of making rice paper is to cut branches from sandalwood trees first, which is called cutting strips. Steam the cut strips first, then soak them in water and peel them. After drying in the sun, lime and soda ash (or oxalic acid) are used to react with it, then impurities are evaporated, washed and torn into thin strips, and the fiber is bleached by sunlight and rain. In this way, the processed leather and forage are pulped separately, mixed with plant gum (such as carambola juice), then made into paper with bamboo curtains, brushed on the kang to dry, cut and then sorted into paper. It takes 18 processes and hundreds of operations, and it takes about 300 days to complete the product.