The paper itself carries a story. Made from the roots of the wolfs-bane plant, it is produced through a labor-intensive process of lifting pulp from water by hand, sheet by sheet.

"It is highly durable and resistant to water, insects and decay, which is why it has long been used for printing important scriptures," she says.

Around the corner, another group gathers around a table of dark matte pottery. Visitors dip fine brushes into gold pigment and carefully trace characters across curved surfaces.

Cao sees the distance between the plateau and the capital dissolving through these interactions.

For Wang Zhen, general manager of the Beijing Tourism Group's subsidiary BTG Tourism Development, this shift reflects something larger than exhibition design.

"It's about helping people understand the deeper value of these crafts. They are not simply artifacts, but living art forms that still resonate in contemporary life," Wang says.

He sees the exhibition as part of a broader effort to transform cultural heritage into an emotional and intellectual journey shared by both creators and audiences.

"When visitors understand the stories, techniques and meanings behind these artifacts, they stop seeing them as distant objects from another time and place and begin to see them as part of their own cultural fabric," Wang says.

Over the past three years, BTG Tourism Development has worked with Rangtang to build a pathway linking exhibitions with tourism routes, study programs and product development.

The county's remoteness, once viewed as a disadvantage, has increasingly become part of its appeal, Wang says. Many visitors, he notes, are urban professionals seeking a slower, quieter experience.

"When they arrive, they don't feel the journey was long, and most believe it was worth it," he says.

Outside the exhibition halls, that value becomes tangible.