Combining modern inkjet technology and a kind of Tibetan paper, Jin Ping recreates two Tibetan thangka. Photos Provided to China Daily

Jan. 4, 2012 -- The 1,300-year-old Tibetan paper makes an image look like it is mysteriously illuminated and is, therefore, the ideal medium for photographer Jin Ping. Wen Chihua reports.

Photographer Jin Ping is not obsessed with technology - but he has long been charmed by the exploration of new methods of image presentation.

The Chengdu, Sichuan province-based photographer, who is in his 50s, has succeeded in developing a distinctive method of combining modern inkjet technology and a kind of Tibetan paper that has a 1,300-year history.

The hybrid process makes the image appear like "a musical charm and a mix of originality and modernity", Jin says.

One of the most intriguing pieces Jin has created with this new method is a recreation of a plate of 24 commemorative stamps issued in 1959 to mark the 10th anniversary of the founding of New China.

The original monochrome woodcut stamp features Chairman Mao Zedong in a dark green uniform, standing on the Tian'anmen Square rostrum as he proclaims the founding of New China.

In Jin's representation, the powerful Mao looks warm and graceful. The fiber of the Tibetan paper creates a surface texture with complex characteristics that subdues the sharpness of Mao. The paper's rough grain makes the simple colors look rich but not exaggerated.