Master of Chinese drums spreads his craft to the world

Photo shows a worker in a drum workshop in Raoyang county, Hengshui city, north China's Hebei Province (Photo/Cui Jiadong)

Jiao Huxing, a traditional drum craftsman from Raoyang county, Hengshui city, north China's Hebei Province, was busy making Chinese drums together with workers in a workshop on Dec. 12.

The traditional Chinese drum consists of the drum membrane and drum shell. There are 16 steps involved in manufacturing a high-quality drum, including splicing planks, gluing materials, polishing, painting, and packaging.

Known as the "hometown of Chinese musical instruments," Raoyang is home to nearly 100 traditional musical instrument manufacturing companies, which produce over 200,000 musical instruments and have a total output value exceeding 500 million yuan (about $695,990) every year. More than 3,000 people work in related industries.

Jiao, a master of Chinese drum making, is capable of making over 10 kinds of drums. He and his team produce more than 500,000 Chinese drums annually, which are sold not only in China, but also in over 10 countries and regions, such as the United States and South Korea. Their drums have been selected for use in large-scale celebrations on a number of occasions.