Ancient books receive new life under skilled hands

At the Shaanxi Provincial Library in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, a group of dedicated women diligently restore ancient books. Like medical specialists treating patients, they work to extend the lives of the old volumes — beating plant pulp to make matching paper, taking the books apart and then rebuilding them.

A professional restoration requires significant time and energy. Proper procedures must be followed.

First, the ancient books need to be photographed and archived to preserve a record of their characteristics. Subsequently, suitable restoration paper is selected or made based on the material, grain, thickness and other characteristics of the original pages.