Music town enriches lives of residents

Zhouwo village, about 200 kilometers southwest of Beijing, has developed into a music town full of musical elements and industries that allow residents to enjoy the art daily as they elevate their living standards.

Located in Hengshui, Hebei province, the village once relied on agriculture. In the 1980s, a local company began to make orchestra instruments and developed into one of the country's largest producers, according to a report by Hebei Daily earlier this month.

About 90 percent of its products, including guitars, violins, saxophones and flutes, are exported to more than 80 countries and regions.

The local government sees Hebei Jinyin Musical Instrument Group as a great opportunity to expand the music industry.

In 2012, it brought in a cultural company from Beijing to combine the production of instruments with musical education and training, according to a recent report on the village's development.

It also attracted music-related professionals and tourists to the village for playing musical instruments, writing music, presenting music-related programs and giving musical performances.

With the music industry expanding, more talent has come, including university graduates, musicians from home and abroad and craftsmen capable of making delicate instruments.

The village, known now as Zhouwo Music Town, invested more than 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) annually over the past few years to encourage and support musicians and various developments around instruments, such as a do-it-yourself workshop for guitar making and try-it-yourself violin clubs, the report said.

The local government showed that it could attract about 300,000 tourists annually not only with the music-themed village - where you can see musical elements on the streets, such as a piano painted on a wall or a elderly resident who's good at playing violin - but also by musical performances.

Currently, it has around 100 companies making or processing musical instruments and more than 100 enterprises involved with cultural creativity that have hired more than 3,000 residents, the report said.

The per capita income of its 959 residents reached 19,000 yuan last year, much higher than the national poverty line of 4,000 yuan this year, the report said. It has also helped poor villagers in six other neighboring villages get rid of poverty by providing job opportunities.