Yichang in China's Hubei crowned "city of pianos"

Yichang in central China's Hubei Province, dubbed the "city of pianos," produces 70,000 pianos each year, which means that one out of every seven pianos in the world is made in the city. Pianos made here are exported to more than 40 countries and regions.

Photo shows a piano production base in Yichang city, central China's Hubei Province. (Photo/Zhou Xingliang)

Parsons Music Group, headquartered in Hong Kong, built China's largest piano production base in Yichang between 1999 and 2001.

Today, the production base is home to over 2,800 workers in the piano manufacturing industry, with the annual sales revenue exceeding 2 billion yuan (about $280.8 million).

Pianos produced at the base make up more than 17 percent of the market share in China. The base can produce over 500 pianos each day and manufacture one piano a minute when running at full capacity.

Photo shows modern piano production lines at a workshop in Yichang city, central China's Hubei Province. (Photo/Zhou Xingliang)

Parsons Music Group has employed over 20 foreign piano experts to participate in the entire piano manufacturing process in Yichang.

Barnabas Fekete, a piano expert from the U.S., is in charge of a self-playing piano performance system at the company. According to Fekete, self-playing pianos can be used for both recreation and teaching. Currently, Yichang is the only place in China that can produce self-playing pianos.

In 2009, pianos with independent intellectual property rights under the Yangtze River brand went into mass production in the city.

An employee works at a piano workshop in Yichang city, central China's Hubei Province. (Photo/Xiao Jiafa)

Ten years later, Yangtze River pianos were designated to be used at the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition, marking the first time that pianos produced in China were used for the competition since it was first held in 1958.

Yichang has held piano music festivals since 2011 and has invited over 100 famous musicians from both home and abroad to perform at the festivals.

The development of the piano industry has not only brought tax revenues to Yichang, but also expanded employment, and boosted the local music market as well as the culture and tourism industry.

Photo shows pianist Pan Linzi during a performance. (Photo/Fu Beibei)

Over the past few years, Yichang has hosted piano concerts and held activities to introduce pianos in communities and schools. Famous pianists, including Liu Shikun, Xie Zhebang, Shi Shucheng, Hong Chang, and Yuan Jie, have participated in these activities to spread knowledge of the piano as well as its culture.

Yichang now has more than 100,000 people who can play the piano, which means that the number of people learning to play the instrument is unmatched by any city in China.

Photo shows the competition venue of the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2019, during which a Yangtze River piano was used. (Photo courtesy of Parsons Music Group)

Photo shows the competition venue of the 22nd Scriabin International Piano Competition in 2020, during which a Yangtze River piano was used. (Photo courtesy of Parsons Music Group)

Pianist Maksim Mrvica performs at a concert. (Photo courtesy of Parsons Music Group)

Famous Spanish pianist Leonel Morales Alonso gives a lecture on pianos. (Photo courtesy of Parsons Music Group)

Pianist Hong Chang instructs a child in a community in Yichang city, central China's Hubei Province. (Photo courtesy of Parsons Music Group)

Sandra Y.S. Ng, a music expert from Hong Kong, interacts with piano students in Yichang city, central China's Hubei Province. (Photo/Guo Xiaoying)

A girl gives a piano performance. (Photo courtesy of Parsons Music Group)