Musical instrument production thrives in Lankao county, C China's Henan

During the summer, Xuchang village in Guyang township, Lankao county, central China's Henan Province transforms into a lush paradise as vibrant paulownia trees create a picturesque scene. In a workshop in the village, a villager named Xu Yachong meticulously fine-tuned a guqin, an ancient seven-stringed zither.

Xu Yachong is the youngest guqin maker in the village.

Xu Yachong fine-tunes a guqin (an ancient seven-stringed zither) in his workshop in Xuchang village, Guyang township, Lankao county, central China's Henan Province. (People's Daily Online/Wang Yuxing)

Paulownia wood, known for its resistance to deformation and excellent breathability and sound transmission, is an ideal material for crafting traditional musical instruments. The musical instrument industry utilizing paulownia as soundboards has become a pillar of economic growth in Lankao.

"The manufacturing of guqin has a history of 40 years in the village. In the past, villagers with a carpentry background lacked knowledge of musical theory and couldn't distinguish the quality of guqin based on its sound, resulting in difficulty selling it at a good price," said Xu Yachong.

In 2010, at the age of 17, Xu Yachong went to Yangzhou in east China's Jiangsu Province to learn traditional guqin craftsmanship, musical theory, and playing techniques. Three years later, he returned to his hometown and started his own business.

Fewer than 20 guqin are crafted by hand annually, whereas over 100 can be produced using machines each month. Xu Yachong believes in the tradition of handcrafting guqin, emphasizing the importance of preserving the ancestral craft to prevent its loss.

Out of the over 100 households in the village, residents from more than 90 households are involved in the production of musical instruments. The annual revenue generated from selling these instruments has exceeded 100 million yuan ($13.75 million).

Photo shows the musical instrument industrial park in Lankao county, central China's Henan Province. (Photo courtesy of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China Lankao county committee)

The musical instrument industrial park of Lankao, situated in Guyang township, is home to over 50 musical instrument manufacturing companies and related enterprises.

Xun Shunhai, head of a musical instrument manufacturing company in the park, said his business transformed from a small workshop into an enterprise with an annual revenue of 7 to 8 million yuan over 10 years. He described the growth as something that was unimaginable.

In recent years, well-known musical instrument manufacturers from Shanghai and Suzhou have established their production facilities in Lankao. Moreover, several prestigious universities and colleges, such as the Central Conservatory of Music and Shanghai Theatre Academy, have engaged in research and collaboration with Lankao in the fields of Chinese musical instrument manufacturing, musical instrument playing, and talent development.

Lankao is currently home to 219 musical instrument production and support enterprises, including 19 large-scale companies, according to Zhao Shanggong, chair of the Lankao Chinese Musical Instrument Association.

They specialize in crafting a diverse range of musical instruments, along with complementary products like soundboards, instrument tables, and stools. With an annual production and sales of 700,000 units, these musical instruments generate an impressive annual revenue of 3 billion yuan.

The products are not only highly sought after within China, but are also exported to more than 40 countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, the U.S., the U.K., and Germany.

A worker makes guzheng, a traditional Chinese musical instrument, at the musical instrument industrial park in Lankao county, central China's Henan Province. (People's Daily Online/Wang Yuxing)