Tianjin town is top in trumpets

Founded in 2001, Oves is one of China's largest wind instrument manufacturers, producing over 100,000 saxophones, flutes and trumpets annually. The production process blends cutting, heating, quenching, welding and polishing with some steps repeated for perfection.

"Compared to production in places like Vietnam, our country has significant advantages in wind instrument manufacturing experience, product quality and worker skill," Ma said. "Our 80 to 90 percent inspection pass rate reflects that."

Since 2010, automation has boosted efficiency. "Currently, we have over 100 intelligent production machines," Ma said. Inside Oves' workshop, workers weld, polish and assemble instruments under the watch of technicians managing multiple machines.

Liu said the industry has a long history in the town. "In the 1970s, our instruments were distributed around the country through cultural stations. Many schools used our youth horns, and the military used our bugles. Later, with economic development, we shifted toward high-end customization and also started producing musical instrument-related crafts, which sell well."

Wang Han, director of the economic development office of Caigongzhuang, said the town's rise mirrors China's economic transformation. In the 1960s and 70s, only one small parts factory supplied State-owned companies. The 1980s saw more small parts factories appearing, and by the 1990s, local brands emerged with their own designs of complete musical instruments. After the year 2000, collective enterprises privatized, resulting in 114 music-related businesses — 51 manufacturers and 63 wholesalers.

"Over 3,000 locals work in instrument production, and nearly every household runs an online store," Wang said. "E-commerce drives 40 percent of the town's output, supporting over 6,000 jobs in online sales, express delivery and related services.

"Villagers who produce instruments in the factories during the day will then sell the products via livestream on social media platforms," he added. "One might sell several or dozens of instruments each day."

Bao Yan contributed to this story.

yandongjie@chinadaily.com.cn