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More than 950,000 violins are crafted each year in the small Chinese city of Huangqiao Town, earning it the nickname the \u201cCremona of the East\u201d. That staggering number makes it the world\u2019s largest violin-making centre, supplying about 70 percent of China\u2019s market, and about 30 percent of the global supply, according to local officials<\/a>.<\/p>\n Of that total, annual export sales have reached 720,000, accounting for 53 percent of China\u2019s violin exports. The instruments are shipped to markets in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and South Africa, among other regions. Annual exports from the town are valued at about 1 billion yuan ($196,524,226.60 CAD).<\/p>\n In a city of about 200,000 residents, 30,000 work for violin companies, which number well over 230. Some companies also produce violas and cellos.<\/p>\n Huangqiao Town has a thousand-year-old history, with an old centre constructed during the rule of Emperor Shenzong of Northern Song Dynasty, between 1048 and 1085. It was once best known for its sesame cakes.<\/p>\n During the 1960s, there was a sudden spurt of violin-making in China, which led to the construction of factories in Beijing and Shanghai. The latter was once China\u2019s violin-making capital, and drew workers in the industry from far and wide.<\/p>\n Some of them came from Huangqiao, such as Li Shu. Now in his 70s, he was an apprentice violin-maker in Shanghai. Along with another businessman from the area, he brought that violin-making experience home in 1962. In 1971, after establishing Huangqiao\u2019s first factory, he crafted the very first violin in Huangqiao Town.<\/p>\n The Huangqiao factory went from making accessories for makers in Shanghai, as a branch of the Shanghai Violin Factory, to producing their own instruments. By 1995, Li\u2019s company went independent, and produced 60,000 instruments in its first year. Today, he\u2019s chairman of Fengling Musical Instruments Co., the Town\u2019s largest violin maker.<\/p>\n The Chinese government\u2019s policy of opening up business to the West benefited local manufacturers, and led to the quick development of the industry at the manufacturing level.<\/p>\n \u201cThe policy has opened the door to the world for Chinese companies, providing a platform to learn from overseas advanced technology as well as promoting cultural exchange,\u201d Li told Global Times<\/a> in February 2023.<\/p>\nWhy Huangqiao Town?<\/h3>\n