The sweet sound of Wuxi

Huang is Wan's son-in-law, and started learning the craft from him in 1995 when he was 27.

"At the time, there were only three people in our workshop. We were fully booked making instruments all year round without any days off," Huang says. "But I saw the potential of the craftsmanship, and focused on refining our technique and gradually expanding scale."

Over the decades, the craftsmen improved the timbre of their instruments through extensive experimentation with various aspects including the raw materials, wood treatments and structure, each aspect requiring years of testing and refinement.

According to Huang, the industrial park houses nearly 20 companies, most of which are dedicated to hand-making premium erhu. They produce around 50,000 instruments a year, exporting around 5,000.

"While each company operates independently in developing and promoting their own brands, the Meicun Erhu Industry Association helps standardize and monitor overall quality. We aim to guide manufacturers in creating instruments of the highest quality," he adds.

In addition to making instruments, Wuxi has a trove of professional and amateur groups. Over the past three years, the Wuxi Chinese Orchestra has performed some 600 concerts, and the Wuxi Symphony Orchestra, which held its inaugural performance on Jan 1 this year, has already participated in 50 performances.

The training of new generations of musicians and performers is also a major focus, in order to cater to an increasingly vibrant music scene. Institutions dedicated to this include the Jiangnan Vocational College of Media Arts.

At the college's school of music and dance, an advanced class is dedicated to students with a strong foundation in their particular musical field. Teaching is a combination of training and performing, preparing the students for competitions, and allowing them to participate in performances.