The Cremona of the East,Violin Capital Of China,The violin is known as the “Queen of Musical Instruments” and is a Western musical instrument known for its elegance. You may find it hard to believe that the world’s largest violin production base is not in European countries such as Italy and Germany, but in a small town in China famous for its “sesame cakes” – Huangqiao Town, Taizhou. Every year, more than 1 million violins of various types are produced here, accounting for 70% of the national output and more than 30% of the global total. One out of every three violins in the world comes from this magical oriental town.

Farmers who “don’t understand music” rushed into the world violin industry

In the primary schools of Huangqiao Town, Taixing City, playing the violin is almost a necessary skill for children. More than 50 years ago, the grandfathers of these children made the first batch of violins branded “Made in Huangqiao”. Since then, Huangqiao’s specialty is not only the “Huangqiao sesame cakes” that are popular all over the country, but also a fashionable and elegant violin. Locals joked that they used to give guests local specialties like sesame cakes, but now more and more people choose violins as gifts.

But the story of Huangqiao and violin is only about 50 years old.

Huangqiao Town, as the world’s largest violin production base, is the capital of China’s violin industry and the setter of production standards for the violin industry. It is known as the “Cremona” of the East. The town currently has more than 220 musical instrument and supporting enterprises, more than 30,000 employees, and an annual output of more than 1 million violins of various types. The total production of violins accounts for more than 70% of the national market share and about 40% of the world market share, with an annual output value of more than 1.5 billion yuan. Today, the musical instrument industry has become a people-enriching industry in Huangqiao.

The encounter between Huangqiao and violins began with the fate of more than half a century ago.

In the 1960s, several workers who returned home from the Shanghai State-owned Violin Factory brought the craft of cutting violin heads back to this small town in northern Jiangsu. At first, this was just a sideline to subsidize their livelihoods – a violin head cost 50 cents and a bow cost one dollar, but it laid the groundwork for the subsequent legend.

When the musical instrument industry faces an “environmental bottleneck”, Huangqiao breaks through with “green wisdom”.

The “Green Island” project, which will be put into operation in 2023, solves the environmental problems that plague the industry with intensive pollution control. In the Huangqiao Musical Instrument Intelligent Environmental Protection Surface Treatment Center, robot arms spray accurately, and the central dust removal system purifies in real time. The coating processes that were originally scattered in many companies now achieve zero emissions of waste gas and dust through a shared platform. This public service platform not only saves small and micro enterprises from investing in environmental protection equipment, but also raises the product qualification rate to a new height, giving “Huangqiao Qinyun” a “green label”.

In the spraying process of violin production, some solvents such as paint and thinner are used, and waste gases such as toluene, xylene, and glycol ethers are produced during the process, which not only pollutes the atmosphere, but also harms human health.

In order to achieve green production and solve problems such as gas emissions, Huangqiao has innovatively introduced a series of automated processing equipment, using electrostatic spraying facilities, fully automatic machine operating systems, fully automatic conveying production lines, central control baking, automatic hangers, etc., and supporting central dust removal equipment and circulating water treatment systems. Not only can it solve the waste gas generated during spraying, but it can also meet the emission standards of dust and powder generated during the grinding process through absorption, filtration, stirring, etc.

In the Huangqiao Musical Instrument Intelligent Environmental Protection Surface Treatment Center, a violin is pulled by a hanger, baked by a central control like a “roast duck”, and then enters the workshop for automatic spraying. It is called “Green Island” by local small and medium-sized enterprises.

“June 21 International Musical Instruments Day” is a grand event for music lovers around the world, and has now covered nearly 130 countries and regions. Since 2017, the main venue in China has been selected in Huangqiao Town for eight consecutive years. Huangqiao has become the region with the longest hosting time, the largest performance lineup, and the most international promotion and publicity for this event. The day with the longest daylight in the northern hemisphere is also the day with the most music in Huangqiao. Musicians performed around Qinhu Lake, ancient town scenic spots, residential communities, schools, and companies, and the melodies flew. Among them are local mass cultural teams, as well as musicians and orchestras from outside the province, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and even abroad. Every year, there are thousands of performers participating. Last year, there were more than 50 performance teams and more than 5,000 performers of different ages participating.

The sound of the violin has entered the lives of Huangqiao people. Violin interest classes are offered in many schools in Huangqiao. Professional violin teachers hired by the government teach together with school music teachers. Children in the town are almost exposed to violin from an early age. In some restaurants, lobby managers and waiters can form a small band by changing clothes. On the streets, people often pick up violins and guitars to show off their skills. You can even see that in the fields and street corner parks in the town, the old man on the left plays a “Bach” and the old woman on the right plays a “Paganini”. Huangqiao is becoming a “city of music”.

The love of music by all people has made Huangqiao the permanent venue for the “June 21 International Musical Instrument Performance Day” in China.

From the booming industry to the renewal of towns and villages, the unique violin industry has spawned a brand new violin town. Huangqiao people play Huangqiao violins and compose “happy music” with “endeavor notes”.