Global EditionASIA 中文双语Français
Culture
Home / Culture / Heritage

Craftsmen strike a chord

Makers of musical instruments tune into a prosperous future in Xinjiang, Xing Wen and Mao Weihua report in Urumqi.

By Xing Wen and Mao Weihua | China Daily Global | Updated: 2021-08-19 09:13
Share
Share - WeChat
A display of some of Anwar Axim 's products.[Photo by Xing Wen/China Daily]

It is meant to be eye-catching, and at 25 meters high and 56 meters wide, the loess statue-a man holding a rawap, a plucked Uygur instrument-stands proudly at the entrance of Jiayi village, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, indicating the characteristic feature of the village.

The village, located in Xinhe county, Aksu prefecture, is renowned for the skill of its villagers in making traditional Uygur musical instruments, an art they have practiced for more than 300 years.

About 100 households out of the village's 326 are engaged in making more than 50 different types of the musical instruments of local ethnic groups.

Last year, the villagers made more than 25,000 instruments that were sold in Urumqi, Korla, Turpan, as well as other cities both inside and outside of the region, with sales reaching 8 million yuan ($1.24 million). The craftsmanship has created an important source of economic growth for the village, says Xu Subao, head of Xinhe county's culture and tourism bureau.

The village's main street is lined with traditional Uygur-style residential houses, the exteriors of which are daubed with straw-tempered mud. The venerable instrument maker Ayit Imin, 68, lives in one of the residences.

A corner of his yard is stacked up with the raw materials needed to make the instruments, including mulberry and apricot wood, as well as acrylic resin.

1 2 3 4 5 Next   >>|
Most Popular
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US