As you may have guessed from the name, China Blue paper is in fact blue. It is also one of the best and most versatile papers available, and the blue color provides a unique and distinctive background for any art you create on it. Nearly any art on this paper will immediately stand out.

The paper is both extremely soft and highly absorbent, which makes it an excellent choice for calligraphy writing. Because of its versatility, however, it also makes a great surface for Sumi-e painting.

Due to how thin it is this paper can also be used for Encaustics, which is a method of painting using hot beeswax that has had color pigments added to it. Because of the nature of this work, the thinner the paper used to create these artworks, the more luminous the final product will be when it is complete.

When chemicals are added to the paper as an additional step to the manufacturing process, the paper becomes known as either processed or semi-processed. For some types of art, the absorption of the paper needs to be limited or eliminated to allow the ink to work in certain ways. To do this a chemical agent called alum is added to the paper. Depending on how much alum is added, the paper will then become either processed or semi-processed. If you are interested in learning more about this process, please visit the Asian Brushpainter Knowledgebase.