Let the music play

Tian Bin (left) and Chen Xuekong hope music can become a deeply rooted tradition in the village.

The orchestra also takes part in the First Outdoor Music Festival of Zhouwo Village recently, which lasts until Sept 1 and features numerous Chinese rock bands and foreign guitarists. The orchestra starts playing every day at 3 pm, kicking off the rest of the program.

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The festival is held on a piece of pasture that can hold about 10,000 people. It is a local government initiative to establish the village as a musical hub, along the model of the 798 Art Zone in Beijing with its collection of galleries and contemporary arts centers.

"Our goal is to make the village a place where musicians, record companies and rehearsal studios can congregate," says Tian Bin, one of the organizers of the music festival and the main planner behind the music village project. He has worked with Midi Music Festival, the oldest outdoor music festival in China, for years, and has signed contracts with some indie bands to make the events at Zhouwo village attractive.

Tian says that as local villagers leave to live in the cities, many old courtyards in the village have been renovated and are available for rent. Many cafes, restaurants and instrument workshops have moved into the village. To encourage the moves, Tian says tenants enjoy the first year rent-free.

"Zhouwo village may not be well-known now, but as more and more indie musicians and music companies move in, the village will become a brand name," he says.

It is already starting. On the first day of the music festival, Beijing rock band Sky got on stage and announced: "This is a very special performing experience. We're singing in a village for the first time. We drove four hours to get here and although we were tired, we were so pleasantly surprised to find John Lennon posters hanging on the village walls!"

According to Tian, apart from financial subsidies from the local government, Jinyin Musical Instrument Company has also invested money and sponsored instruments for the festival. The company has also employed music teachers from Beijing to coach the villagers.

"I think it's an opportunity for the once-sleepy village to wake up and be known by the outside world," says villager Chen Xuekong, who also happens to be the owner and founder of the Jinyin Musical Instrument Company.

The villagers of Zhouwo once grew potatoes, rice and other crops. Today most of the village of 2,500 work for Jinyin Musical Instrument Company, producing more than 1 million instruments for export annually.

The 62-year-old Chen started the factory in 1984.

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"When I got the contract to make 30 flutes for a Chinese-American businessman back in 1990, I had never even seen a flute," says Chen. "None in my family knew how to play music and the original idea was just to make a living by producing simple instrument parts."

But as his company expanded, Chen became more affluent and he wanted to help the villagers change their lives. He started to help the young learn music, and pursue higher education.

The idea of turning Zhouwo into a village full of music is still in its infancy as far as Chen and the local government are concerned, but they are very optimistic.

"The village was poor. Everything was cheap," says Chen. "With money villagers made from working at Jinyin, they can now eat well and live well. But it's not enough. How to keep the village developing and progressing is crucial. I may retire in two or three years, but the company and the musical tradition of the village will grow."

Contact the writer at chennan@chinadaily.com.cn.