Town performs encore in sound of music

Weifang, a city in Shandong province, is known the world over for its traditional kite-making industry.

However, nestled within this city is a small town home to 100,000 residents that is gaining global plaudits for producing high-quality musical instruments.

In Tangwu town, more than 5,000 people are involved in the business of making over two million musical instruments each year, including guitar, bass, ukulele, banjo and mandolin, which are sold to more than 30 countries and regions, according to the township government.

Among these, Tangwu's electric guitars alone have a market share of some 40 percent in China.

Upon arriving in Tangwu, visitors are greeted by a towering guitar landmark and sculptures of musical instruments, serving as a testament to the town's instrument-making prowess.

"Farmer friends here have learned how to produce professional guitars and basses, and their products have surpassed many well-known brands," said Julian Garcia, who works as a quality supervisor at Changyunda Musical Instrument Co Ltd, located in Tangwu, Changle county.

Garcia, a professional bassist from Argentina, once bought a guitar made in Yangwu and was amazed by its quality.

"I was curious to know everything about the town, so I came to Tangwu to explore more," he said.

Top-notch quality

In a guitar production base of Changyunda, workers are busy polishing, painting, tuning and assembling electric guitars.

"My main job is quality control, and as a professional bassist, I provide some of my own suggestions in production," said Garcia, who was seen debugging a guitar at the production base in early December in order to ensure a perfect sound and feel.

As a professional musician, Garcia has a good understanding of the problems that musicians face during a performance.

"We will have targeted production processes to avoid many aftersales problems," he said.

The production process of making one electric guitar involves eight major steps, with 70 percent of the work being done manually, said Zhang Longgang, manager of the company.

Changyunda, which specializes in manufacturing electric guitars and bass products, sells over 90 percent of its products overseas. The company exported 100,000 musical instruments in the first 10 months of 2023, said Zhang.

"Our sales have maintained a trend of steady growth in recent years," he added.

Zhang attributed the company's development to the complete industrial chain in the town.

The roads of its industrial park spanning 80,000 square meters are lined with companies involved in the production of musical instruments and their parts.

To help these companies explore global markets, the park has established a cross-border e-commerce service center. The town has also built 48 warehouses in Europe and the Americas, said the township government.

Of the 108 companies dedicated to producing musical instruments in Tangwu, 22 have the authorization to engage in import and export.

The town has seen sales of musical instruments grow rapidly, with over 1.3 million instruments sold in 2020, representing a 30 percent increase compared to 2019. Last year's sales surpassed 2 million.