Industries of traditional Chinese instrument the erhu are booming in Wuxi City of east China's Jiangsu Province.
The erhu, a traditional Chinese two-stringed instrument, is also known as the Chinese violin. It produces sharp and narrow peaks with only two strings and can express endless joys and sorrows. It is categorized as an intangible cultural heritage item and is adapting to the modern times.
Snake skin can be a popular fashion element, but this specialty leather is used as the skin of the erhu resonator.
"Although the erhu comes from the western regions of China, in the course of the past hundred years, it has become a musical instrument of our nation, and has become part of our cultural identity," said Yang Xinwei, Communist Party Secretary, Meicun Sub-district in Wuxi.
Meicun in Wuxi is a strategic place for the instrument. A quarter of the global mid-to-high-end erhus are made here.
"Meicun has nearly 20 erhu making enterprises. The industry worth about 50 million yuan (about 6.87 million U.S. dollars). We sell about 50,000 erhu every year," Yang said.
Delicate instruments like the erhu needs to be hand-made, and the know-hows are often passed down through apprenticeships in generations.
"It's all about the texture. The quality of the erhu depends on our feel of it by hands. You can't just listen to the sound. That is not accurate," said Shen Jianbo, a worker, Guyue instrument store.
Resonator is crucial for sound-making. The one for the erhu is a wooden pot, covered by snake skin, or to be more precise - python leather.
"The most crucial is the process of skinning, because whether sound of an erhu is good depends on the tightness, and the thickness of the snakeskin. So choosing the right piece is a test to the maker's skill," said Bo Guangjun, Erhu Non-Intangible Cultural Inheritor, Wuxi.
But choosing the right material is just the first step. The leather needs to be carefully processed to accommodate the dynamic vibration coming through the resonator.
"Then we need to soak the leather in water. Depending on the weather, the temperature, and the humidity, the duration of the soaking is different. When do we say it is soaked throughout, how much you scrape it off with knife, that all takes experience," Bo said.
Producers of the erhu are also thinking of substitute to the python leather for the wild-animal skin to clear customs easier for oversea markets.
"Python is a protected wild animal, so we need to get permission in making it. We are also aware of the protection in the international realm. So we found synthetic leather. We have already made some erhu with it and it has stood the test of performers on stage," Yang said.
Despite facing numerous challenges, the erhu-making industries have exhibited consistent growth.
Meicun Village promotes the instruments with competitions, concerts, and even registering a trademark collectively. It has become not just a business of making instruments, but an education-entertainment industrial complex.
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Erhu industries flourish in east China's Wuxi