Central Jiangsu town's violin story
(english.jsjyt.gov.cn) Updated：2018-05-03
Fifth-grade students at the Huangqiao Central Primary School enjoy playing violin after class. [Photo by Li Xiang/Xinhua]
There is nothing more enjoyable for students at the Huangqiao Central Primary School in Jiangsu province than taking a violin class every week.
As one of the most popular extracurricular activities, violin has helped students improve their artistic sense, and also strengthened their hometown pride.
Today, the central Jiangsu town of Huangqiao is much more than an old revolutionary town and the home of sesame cakes.
After five decades of dedication to the violin, the humble Eastern township has made a name for itself crafting the Western instrument.
Wang Xiaoyun, mayor of Huangqiao, said the promising local violin industry has attracted around 220 enterprises, provided over 30,000 jobs, and achieved an annual output of 700,000 violins, 30 percent of the world's total.
"Our violins were exported to over 90 countries and regions in the West, achieving a yearly output value of 2.4 billion yuan ($377 million)," Wang said.
