A master crafts a lusheng in Jinying village in Guizhou’s Qianxinan Bouyei and Miao autonomous prefecture on Dec 27. [Photo/xinhuanet.com]

Jinying village in Guizhou province has turned its love of music into one of its pillar industries thanks to maintaining traditional production techniques passed down from generation to generation.

Jinying, located in Qianxinan Bouyei and Miao autonomous prefecture, is famed for its production of the lusheng, an ancient woodwind instrument popular for hundreds of years with the Miao and Dong ethnic groups. Despite the advent of modern production techniques, Jinying has stayed true to its roots and maintained the old ways of production in a bid to preserve its cultural heritage.

Played at festivals and important ceremonies, as well as to welcome guests to the village, the lusheng is synonymous with Jinying, which is often known as the “first village of lusheng”.

The lusheng was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, and with that came a new found interest and popularity for the instrument from people both within and outside Guizhou province.

The village has established a cooperative to arrange people to make the instruments which today turns over three million yuan ($432,089.87) annually.

To make a lusheng, more than 120 steps need to be completed. A lusheng production master can make more than 300 lusheng in a year, earning 70,000 to 90,000 yuan.