Xuanzhi is a kind of paper used by Chinese intellectuals for calligraphy and painting. The biggest Xuanzhi factory—Anhui Hongxing Xuanzhi Factory—has sent the best workers from two affiliated factories to make a giant piece of Xuanzhi, which is 11.6 meters long and 3.3 meters wide.

Even these experienced workers find it hard to adjust to such a large scale. They are used to working in pairs, but the two-ton wooden board needed for a piece of Xuanzhi this size requires 46 people to dredge together. Xuanzhi is made of straw and a local kind of elm. If the paper bends or twists in the sink, it means yet another failure.