Friends who have been to Hainan know that there is a warm and hospitable ethnic group in Hainan, that is, the Li people. Most of the Li people live on Hainan Island. The Li people not only make pottery and Li brocade... They are also a nation that loves music and dances and can sing and dance well. There is a saying in the Li nationality that "the singing does not stop, the flute does not stop", which shows that music and dance play an important role in the life of the Li people.

Li musical instruments are an important part of Li musical culture. According to statistics, there are more than 40 traditional musical instruments in Li musical instruments. There are mainly dumu drum, ding dong, mouth bow, mouth worship, nose flute, burning bar, beeping and so on.

Ding dong is a unique percussion instrument of the Li people, also called "ding dong qin" and "Langong" in Li language. Dingdong is composed of three parts, namely wooden pole (or wooden pole), wooden frame and percussion stick, among which wooden pole is the pronunciation body, which is the most important. The wooden poles are mostly made of hard red numb wood or medium agarwood or wood top wood or cattail wood. Most of the wooden frames are tripods engraved with traditional patterns of the Li nationality. The percussion stick consists of two wooden sticks about 30 cm in length and 3 cm in diameter. The Li people usually tie a red cloth strip at one end of the stick, and paint various Li patterns on the whole body of the stick for decoration.

There is a beautiful legend about the origin of Ding Dong. A long time ago, the Li people chopped down the "mountain fence" rice planted in the mountains, and because they were worried that birds and beasts would steal and destroy them, they used red mud pills to drive them away.
When an old couple was tending the crops, they ran out of mud pellets, but the birds still didn't leave. Grandma picked up a wooden stick and knocked it, but the birds were frightened and ran away. Inspired, Grandpa deliberately found a loud wooden stick to strike to scare birds and beasts, and guard the mountain fence for crops such as rice, corn, and cassava.

The ding-dong sound is clear and loud, which can be used to drive away birds and beasts (it is said that monkeys are most afraid of the ding-dong sound) and protect crops. It is an indispensable labor tool in the fields of the Li people. Ding-dong later became a form of entertainment for the Li people after production and labor, and later, Ding-dong gradually developed into playing musical instruments.

Later, people discovered and learned about this musical instrument. After development and improvement, the bamboo part was cancelled and the musical part was highlighted. The number of wooden poles was increased to five, and it became the ding dong and ding dong we see on the stage today. It can be played solo, in ensemble or with songs and is a very versatile percussion instrument.

If you want to see with your own eyes how this kind of dingdong musical instrument is played, you can go to Baoting Binlang Valley Tourist Scenic Spot, where there is a Li nationality instrumental music team. Coconut shells and ox horns can play beautiful melody in their hands. Many unique musical instruments of the Li ethnic group come alive in their hands, allowing you to experience a completely different audio-visual feast. Remember to go to Hainan to listen to this unique musical instrument played by the Li people!