THE ENTERPRISE SYSTEM

China has become a world leader in stringed instrument making, based on a system of bulk production combined with respect for craftsmanship. Sisi Ye speaks to the heads of manufacturing firms in Pinggu, Queshan and Huangqiao to learn more

A worker at Fengling Musical Instruments in Huangqiao, the largest violin making company in China

In just under 30 years, China has become the world’s most prolific country in making stringed instruments. It is estimated that more than 1.4 million violins are made in China annually, nearly all of them emerging from the industry heartlands of Pinggu, Queshan and Huangqiao. These three areas represent 35 per cent of annual global violin production, even though the citizens of those regions barely knew about Western stringed instruments little more than a decade ago.

At the start of the 1980s, most violin factories were stateowned. As the decade went on, many of those companies switched to private operational models, and new firms began to appear. More interest in Chinese violins began to come from abroad, which attracted large numbers of entrepreneurs from the provinces to enter the industry. Unlike the traditional artisan workshops of Europe and the US, Chinese violin manufacturers looked at bulk production to meet the vast demand for Western musical instruments, both in their own country and further afield, and strove to meet the market demand with greater efficiency in production.

Located around 40 miles from central Beijing, Pinggu district is dedicated to the cultural and creative industries, and to musical education in particular. It is home to the town of Donggaocun, one of the national bases of the violin industry, with more than 40 violin manufacturers working there. The development of the district began 15 years ago, as part of Beijing’s preparations to host the 2008 Olympic Games: to improve the city’s traffic and pollution problems, a programme of urban reconstruction was initiated, with many factories moved out of the central areas and into the nearby regions.

More and more violin workshops and factories moved to Donggaocun, such as East China (Huadong) Musical Instrument, the largest violin making firm in northern China. It originally specialised in making violins for beginners, which were sold at 100–200 yuan (around £10–20). Now, it is able to offer medium- and high-end violins at 10,000–70,000 yuan.

With the increase in quality, Huadong’s output has reduced from 200,000 to 120,000 violins per year, while annual turnover has increased from 50 million to 80 million yuan, demonstrating the success of the company’s strategy.

Born into a farming family, Huadong’s founder Liu Yundong started the business in 1988 with a loan of 200,000 yuan. At the start, his workshop had only a dozen workers; now there are more than a hundred, both industry veterans with over 30 years’ experience in making violins, and young graduates from Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM). Hiring well-trained luthiers means that Huadong’s products can become more diverse, while combining the models of mass production and traditional workshops can potentially reduce production costs. Huadong also invented an automated system for dust collection, contributing to environmental protection and healthy working conditions.

Following the 2009 financial crisis, the number of Huadong’s overseas orders plunged. Liu responded by changing his sales strategy, focusing his attention on providing better violins for the domestic market. The company recovered but Liu continued to cultivate the market in his own country.

Promoting musical culture in the local community has become part of the mission of Huadong and many other manufacturers. Gradually this has become one of the forces shaping the vibrant musical landscape in China today.

Q ueshan County in Henan province, eastern China, is another violin making heartland. The luthiers there were once the most important force in the industry nationally. Beijing used to have more than 80 violin makin shops, run by more than 2,000 veterans of Queshan, and there are still many businesses operating in the county. A few years ago, the local government invested 560 million yuan in the building of an industrial zone devoted to stringed instruments. As well as factories, dormitories and offices, it includes facilities such as a performance hall and instrument exhibition space.

The local instrument manufacturers are entitled to use the facilities for three years without charge. Attracted by these favourable policies, several companies have relocated to this industrial zone, such as Jinming Musical Instruments, which moved from Beijing, and Henan Haoyun Musical Instruments (formerly Beijing Yibo Musical Instruments) led by Li Jianming. There are now more than 100 violin businesses in Queshan, with production accounting for 40 per cent of the national total. Over 80 per cent of medium- and high-end violins in China are made in Queshan. Haoyun has imported timber from countries including Austria, Russia and Canada, aiming to enhance the quality of its products. Although 80 per cent of the instruments are sold overseas, Haoyun has still begun to shift its focus and develop the domestic market.

THERE ARE MORE THAN 100 VIOLIN BUSINESSES IN QUESHAN, WITH PRODUCTION ACCOUNTING FOR 40 PER CENT OF THE NATIONAL TOTAL

Workers usually deal with just one part of the production process

‘I NEVER LEAVE ANY OF MY COLLEAGUES IF THEY’RE STILL WORKING OVERTIME ON THE PRODUCTION LINE’ 

Essentially, the process of making an instrument is a production line, with more than 40 individual processes each performed by a specialist in the field, such as adding the purfling, or making and applying the varnish. All of them take place in more than a dozen workshops. Jinming head Wang Jintang is an experienced luthier himself. ‘Every violin is unique, and it has its own “temper” and “soul”,’ he says. ‘It is part of the fun of making stringed instruments!’ Wang has two sons, the elder now a student at CCOM’s Violin Making and Research Centre. The younger is training to be a professional cellist.

In February 2020 the Queshan local council announced that it had finally been removed from the Chinese government’s list of poverty-stricken counties. The prosperity of the violin business certainly played an important role in this success.

Haoyun Musical Instruments, for example, now manufactures over 50,000 violins every year, creating nearly 200 jobs for local villagers and helping more than 80 local families out of poverty.

Huangqiao is an ancient town in Jiangsu province on the east coast of China, with 220,000 people spread over 70 square miles. Famous for its sesame cake and ginkgo trees, the town is also known for its violin manufacturing businesses, and has been called ‘China’s violin town’. More than 2,000 artisans are involved in the industry, across 220 violin workshops and factories such as Fengling Musical Instruments, the largest violin manufacturer in China. The factory produce 220,000 violins per year and a sales volume of nearly 130 million yuan – a quarter of the national total. It has also built a ‘culture industry park’ called Qinyun Town (Qinyun means ‘melodious’). It is focused on promoting musical instrument culture, and includes an exhibition hall for historical stringed instruments, a music school, hotels and recreational facilities, and a street of instrument workshops modelled on London’s Savile Row.

Fengling founder Li Shu with writer Sisi Ye, and many of the firm’s instruments

ALL PHOTOS VICTOR ZHANG

Fengling founder Li Shu is also president of the violin section of the China Musical Instrument Association. He started work at the state-owned Shanghai Violin Factory (predecessor of Fengling Group) in 1973, working his way up the ranks to senior management. In the past few decades he has weathered all kinds of crises, including one time when the company’s debts totalled 700,000 yuan and he could not pay the staff salaries. However, now it boasts almost 1,000 employees and offers guitars, pianos and instrument accessories as well as violins. Li can often be seen on the shop floor, working with his employees. ‘When I was young, I was always the first employee at the workbench,’ he recalls.

‘Now I’m the leader of my team, I never leave any of my colleagues if they’re still working overtime on the production line.’

After investigating violin manufacturing processes in Europe, the US, Japan and Korea, Li concluded that ‘it is hardly possible to turn villagers into master violin artisans – at least not in months.’ Hence Li has compartmentalised each step of the process as far as is possible. Each worker only deals with one very small step, shortening the training period to one or two months. For the processes with many complex techniques, such as putting in the purfling or applying vanish, Li designed machines to automate the work as far as possible. And in response to the national call for innovation and environmental protection, he invented techniques to manufacture violins with bamboo, aiming to solve the issue of raw material shortages.

Art installation at Qinyun Town, Huangqiao

Collaborating with the Nanjing University of the Arts, Fengling produces various bamboo stringed instruments, such as the xiaobei and dabei. Their appearance and sound are something between the erhu and Western stringed instruments.

It is hard not to be shocked by the astonishing manufacturing power of the Chinese violin making industry, especially considering the instrument’s origins in the Western world. Through working with more partners in European and American countries, the Chinese manufacturers have enhanced their own manufacturing skills. In addition to inventive management, favourable government support has contributed to the success of the ‘Made in China’ brand. The industry not only creates jobs for local people, but also the hope of a better life, and of imparting new skills and craftsmanship to their descendents.

After all, throughout its 5,000-year history, China has never been short on innovation.