"We rely on erhu to live a good life now." Wan Qixing, an erhu maker in Wuxi Meicun, who is over 80 years old, is quite proud of the story of his hometown relying on a pair of erhus to achieve a well-off life.

The picture shows an erhu workshop in Meicun, Wuxi, where veteran craftsmen are grinding and making erhu parts.

As one of the representatives of Chinese folk musical instruments, the erhu enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad. Carefully study the territory of Chinese erhu art, you will find that many famous erhu masters, famous tunes and famous qin masters since the 20th century all point to one place - Wuxi, Jiangsu.

In 2011, the craftsmanship of "Meicun Erhu" in Wuxi was included in the list of intangible cultural heritage of Jiangsu Province. In the same year, Wuxi Meicun was awarded the title of "Hometown of Erhu in China" by the Chinese Musicians Association.

The picture shows that workers are polishing the barrel of the erhu.

Although the name is famous, at that time Meicun Erhu was still a niche brand in a corner.

"In the beginning, my father-in-law helped a musical instrument company in Suzhou to make piano embryos, and the price was only 100 yuan (RMB, the same below). Later, it was processed on behalf of others, and the profit was not high and there was no sense of accomplishment. Started his own brand 'Guyue Qinfang'..." Whenever he talks about the development of Mei Village's erhu, Wan Qixing's son-in-law and representative of the second generation of Gu Yueqinfang, Bu Guangjun, will talk about this past.

At the beginning of the business, Wan Qixing Gu Yueqin Square was a "self-employed": there were only two workers, and the business depended on OEMs to earn some manual fees. Today, Qinfang has thousands of square meters of workshops and more than 30 workers. It has become a professional manufacturer of medium and high-end erhu musical instruments. The products are exported to Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and other countries.

The picture shows that the finished erhu is being packaged and sent to all parts of the country.

The development of Gu Yueqin Square is the epitome of the development of Erhu production enterprises in Wuxi Mei Village. For more than 10 years, Wan Qixing and more than 10 erhu masters including Lu Linsheng and Qiang Jinbo have completed the inheritance of skills and the handover of careers through the model of father-to-son and master-to-student, and let the reputation of Meicun erhu sound and go out. .

In the past ten years, the local 18,000-square-meter Erhu Industrial Park has also emerged, attracting erhu production enterprises, supporting enterprises and distribution enterprises in Mei Village and surrounding areas.

According to Huang Jianhong, president of the Erhu Industry Association in Meicun, there are currently 20 erhu production enterprises in Meicun, producing more than 50,000 erhus of various types each year, accounting for a quarter of the global mid-to-high-end erhu market share, with an annual output value of nearly 50 million yuan.

In Bu Guangjun's view, the erhu in Plum Village can be done well, especially thanks to the vigorous development of the domestic market, which makes traditional crafts more and more like a duck to water.

A reporter from China News Agency learned that Wuxi not only has a group of erhu enthusiasts above the tenth level, but also a number of folk bands, performing various types of performances continuously.

Holding erhu competitions, hosting New Year's concerts, registering collective trademarks for "Meicun Erhu"... The local government, enterprises, and individuals have linked and promoted each other, effectively enhancing the popularity and influence of erhu in Meicun, and promoting the erhu industry and erhu industry. The prosperity of cultural undertakings.

Looking back at the road, Bu Guangjun sighed: "From the lack of interest to the market. For more than ten years, the erhu in Mei Village has achieved a counterattack from sparrow to phoenix."