Documentary photographer Jin Ping is not obsessed with technology, innovation or making a name for himself in Chinese photography, but his use of Tibetan paper for printing photos is a milestone.

For years the photographer in Chengdu has explored new methods of image presentation. Integrating aesthetics, the visual arts, printing technology and rough-fiber, hand-crafted Tibetan paper, Jin has developed a hybrid process using modern inkjet technology and a paper-making process that dates back 1,300 years.

The paper, which is anti-microbial, moisture- and pest-resistant, once was used only for Buddhist scriptures, images and prayer flags. Printing photos and other images on the fiber lends depth and texture, especially for black-and-white photos taken in Tibetan villages.

For the past eight years, Jin has traveled deep into southwest China, exploring the disappearing craftsmanship of traditional paper making in remote ethnic areas.

He has tested various techniques and adopted Giclee printing, or fine art digital prints with inkjet printers, to print his own photos on the handmade papers of six ethnic groups, including Tibetan, Dai, Miao and Bai, mostly from Yunnan Province.

"These papers all have a wonderful ability to enhance the expression of the artist," Jin notes. "However, I favor Tibetan paper above the rest. It gives the digital image an extremely profound, touching and warm expression."

Conceptually, one of the most intriguing pieces Jin created in this medium is a recreation of a plate of 24 commemorative stamps issued in 1959 to mark the 10th anniversary of the inauguration of the People's Republic of China.

The original monochrome woodcut stamp shows Mao Zedong in a dark green uniform, standing on the gate tower of Beijing's Tian'anmen Square as he proclaims the founding of the new nation. It's an iconic image.

One of the first plates was bought by a stamp collector named Yang Shaoming, son of Yang Shangkun, who once held a senior position on the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Yang Shaoming obtained Mao's autograph on the plate of stamps - the three Chinese characters "Mao Zedong" were signed vertically across the entire plate, turning an otherwise ordinary plate of stamps into a piece of conceptual art.

In Jin's representation, the powerful Mao looks warm and gracious. The fiber of the Tibetan paper underlying the digital image creates a special surface texture with complex characteristics that soften the sharp outlines of Mao. The paper's rough grain makes the simple color relationships look rich without looking exaggerated.

Before Jin started using Tibetan paper in his own art, the high-quality paper was used solely for printing Buddhist classics.

In 2006 Jin went to photograph the Dege Sutra Printing House in Ganze Tibetan Nationality Autonomous Prefecture of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

In the printing house, Jin discovered that the techniques of writing, carving and block printing remain unchanged since the 13th century. And paper-making techniques are also unchanged.

"Tibetan paper makes an image look like it has been mysteriously illuminated," he says.

"I realized that this age-old medium could create an unexpected visual effect for digital images."

Tibetan paper is made of the root-hair of the Stellera Chamaejasme plant, a medicinal herb related to the Daphne shrub. Known locally as agyiaorugyiao, Tibetan paper is antiseptic, mothproof, moisture-proof and long-lasting. Well cared-for sutras can stay intact for several hundred years.