The woodblock for printing is one of the "four inventions" of ancient China. Block printing in yangzhou originated in the Tang Dynasty, developed in the Ming Dynasty and reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty, and possesses an important position in the printing history of China. After the founding of New China in 1949, Yangzhou established the Guangling ancient book block printing house, and became well-known in China for its handicrafts. It has published over 50 thread-bound ancient Chinese books including "The Peach Blossom Fan". "The West Chamber" and "Collection of Chu Poems."
With 1,000 years of development, a delicate handicraft has been formed. Wood blocks (made of pear trees), high-grade xuan paper (high quality paper for traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy) and specially-made ink are used to print the books, which are then thread bound and packaged with silk covers. In 1998, the Guangling ancient book block printing house published "Mao Zedong's Comment on the Twenty-Four Histories (dynastic histories from remote antiquity to the Ming Dynasty), "which attracted much attention. Block printing ancient books are highly valued and appreciated by collectors both at home and abroad, and are often used as gifts by Chinese leaders visiting foreign countries or presented to visiting foreign leaders.

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