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Guo Lanzhen, a 47-year-old rural woman in donggaocun Town of Pinggu district, northeast Beijing, is a salt of the earth farmer: rugged, resourceful and reliable. But this creative soul possesses a skill that is as far removed from farming as classical music is from rock and roll. Guo makes violins.
“I have been working on making the instruments for 14 years,” Guo, now a worker at Huadong Musical Instrument Factory, told ChinAfrica. In donggaocun, nicknamed the “home of violins,” about 3,500 farmers like Guo, in a population of 33,000, are engaged in the violin-making.
It is said that one in three violins in the world is produced here. With such a large output, the town should be reaping the benefits of such a viable market. But the truth is that this third largest global violin-making base only gains a small slice of the profit margin in the industrial chain, as pricing is set by foreign agencies.
Despite this, violin-making does bring another job option to the community and helps improve the living standard of local farmers who previously were totally reliant on farming.
Violin haven
No one anticipated violin-making would grow to become a pillar industry of this rural town in the late 1980s, when some local farmers started the business. Today there are about 20 large violin manufacturers and 150 workshops in the town, forming a complete industrial chain from raw material supply and parts manufacturing to violin assembly.
It is estimated that about 300,000 musical instruments are produced every year, with the output value reaching 350 million yuan ($54.9 million), 30 percent of the town’s GdP. Employing about 20 percent of the local farming community, the industry contributed about 20 million yuan ($3.14 million) to the annual revenue of the local government.
“Working here makes me feel like an urbanite, with regular working hours. Thanks to the job, I get an additional income, besides that from farming, of about 20,000 yuan ($3,140) annually,” said Guo Lanzhen. In Guo’s factory, the making of violins is di- vided into about 30 stages.
During the process of urbanization, more and more farmers became surplus labor- ers as agricultural technology improved and farmland diminished. Young, bettereducated people in donggaocun sought out their fortunes in Beijing where there were more opportunities and better-paid jobs.
However, for middle-aged farmers like Guo, who possessed no professional skills and only had farm work to rely on, jobs in the violin manufacturing factories were better options. “It doesn’t require sophisticated skills. We villagers can do the work even though we are less-educated,” said Guo.
“What’s more, this job does not prevent us from doing farm work. during harvest or planting seasons, I can ask for a leave,” she added.
Profit line flaw
The financial crisis that smacked the world economy in 2008 also affected the violin town. “actually, violin manufacturing is similar to garment processing,” Zhao Wei, deputy director of the administration Committee for China Music Valley in Pinggu, told ChinAfrica. He explained that the [violin] industry was transferred from developed countries, first from Europe, to Japan and then to China, to take advantage of lower cost labor resources. “So making violins faces the same problem as China’s manufacturing industry: low profit margin,”he added.
Violins made in donggaocun were mostly sold on the international market. Huadong Musical Instrument Factory, the largest violin manufacturer in the town producing 25 percent of the world’s violins, exports 90 percent of its products to European countries and the united States. “Without our own brand, we have to sell our products by labeling trademarks of well-known foreign violin manufacturers, and thus lose our say in deciding the price,” Zhao said.
Larger manufacturers produce medium and low-grade violins. The ex-factory price of those sold on the international market at several hundred dollars is around 200 yuan($31.4). “So the profit of each violin is only about 10 yuan ($1.57),” Geng Guosheng, owner of a violin workshop, told ChinAfrica.
“It is imperative to upgrade this industry,”Cui Changming told ChinAfrica.An agent from Taiwan, Cui has been trading musical instruments for more than 20 years and is quite familiar with China’s violin manufacturing.
Brand awareness
Manufacturers and craftsmen in donggaocun realized they face major challenges in the future. “The only way out for us is to increase the added value of our products,” said Liu Yundong, General Manager of Huadong Musical Instrument Factory.
To promote its own brand “Huayun,”Huadong has actively participated in international competitions. at the first international competition for violinmaking held in 2010, eight violins made in donggaocun stood out, ranking among the top 50 of 300 violins from countries across the world. a violin from Huadong was rated the fifth best.
“It’s a good try. But the costs of building a brand are relatively high,” Cui said. “There must be a complete promotion strategy and enough financial backup,” he added.
Liu was not alone in efforts to upgrade this industry. The local government has a plan on building the China Music Valley, a national music industry park, to absorb musical talents and investments. The plan has been included in Beijing’s 12th Year Plan (2011-15) for the development of cultural and creative industry.
“The park will be a music making base incorporating instruments and audio products making, and attract music talents and financial resources to improve the added value of the current violin making sector here,” Zhao Wei said.
“It will be a new engine driving the economic growth of Pinggu district where donggaocun is located, with an aim of providing more job opportunities for local farmers to ensure they have a steady source of income,” Zhang Lixin, deputy director of Pinggu development and Reform Commission, said. It is estimated that 50,000 jobs will be created and the annual output value reach to 30 to 50 billion yuan($4.7 to 7.8 billion) when it is built.
Guo welcomes the advent of the music valley. She hopes that making violins can be a life-long job and believes the local livelihood will change positively in the future.
“I have been working on making the instruments for 14 years,” Guo, now a worker at Huadong Musical Instrument Factory, told ChinAfrica. In donggaocun, nicknamed the “home of violins,” about 3,500 farmers like Guo, in a population of 33,000, are engaged in the violin-making.
It is said that one in three violins in the world is produced here. With such a large output, the town should be reaping the benefits of such a viable market. But the truth is that this third largest global violin-making base only gains a small slice of the profit margin in the industrial chain, as pricing is set by foreign agencies.
Despite this, violin-making does bring another job option to the community and helps improve the living standard of local farmers who previously were totally reliant on farming.
Violin haven
No one anticipated violin-making would grow to become a pillar industry of this rural town in the late 1980s, when some local farmers started the business. Today there are about 20 large violin manufacturers and 150 workshops in the town, forming a complete industrial chain from raw material supply and parts manufacturing to violin assembly.
It is estimated that about 300,000 musical instruments are produced every year, with the output value reaching 350 million yuan ($54.9 million), 30 percent of the town’s GdP. Employing about 20 percent of the local farming community, the industry contributed about 20 million yuan ($3.14 million) to the annual revenue of the local government.
“Working here makes me feel like an urbanite, with regular working hours. Thanks to the job, I get an additional income, besides that from farming, of about 20,000 yuan ($3,140) annually,” said Guo Lanzhen. In Guo’s factory, the making of violins is di- vided into about 30 stages.
During the process of urbanization, more and more farmers became surplus labor- ers as agricultural technology improved and farmland diminished. Young, bettereducated people in donggaocun sought out their fortunes in Beijing where there were more opportunities and better-paid jobs.
However, for middle-aged farmers like Guo, who possessed no professional skills and only had farm work to rely on, jobs in the violin manufacturing factories were better options. “It doesn’t require sophisticated skills. We villagers can do the work even though we are less-educated,” said Guo.
“What’s more, this job does not prevent us from doing farm work. during harvest or planting seasons, I can ask for a leave,” she added.
Profit line flaw
The financial crisis that smacked the world economy in 2008 also affected the violin town. “actually, violin manufacturing is similar to garment processing,” Zhao Wei, deputy director of the administration Committee for China Music Valley in Pinggu, told ChinAfrica. He explained that the [violin] industry was transferred from developed countries, first from Europe, to Japan and then to China, to take advantage of lower cost labor resources. “So making violins faces the same problem as China’s manufacturing industry: low profit margin,”he added.
Violins made in donggaocun were mostly sold on the international market. Huadong Musical Instrument Factory, the largest violin manufacturer in the town producing 25 percent of the world’s violins, exports 90 percent of its products to European countries and the united States. “Without our own brand, we have to sell our products by labeling trademarks of well-known foreign violin manufacturers, and thus lose our say in deciding the price,” Zhao said.
Larger manufacturers produce medium and low-grade violins. The ex-factory price of those sold on the international market at several hundred dollars is around 200 yuan($31.4). “So the profit of each violin is only about 10 yuan ($1.57),” Geng Guosheng, owner of a violin workshop, told ChinAfrica.
“It is imperative to upgrade this industry,”Cui Changming told ChinAfrica.An agent from Taiwan, Cui has been trading musical instruments for more than 20 years and is quite familiar with China’s violin manufacturing.
Brand awareness
Manufacturers and craftsmen in donggaocun realized they face major challenges in the future. “The only way out for us is to increase the added value of our products,” said Liu Yundong, General Manager of Huadong Musical Instrument Factory.
To promote its own brand “Huayun,”Huadong has actively participated in international competitions. at the first international competition for violinmaking held in 2010, eight violins made in donggaocun stood out, ranking among the top 50 of 300 violins from countries across the world. a violin from Huadong was rated the fifth best.
“It’s a good try. But the costs of building a brand are relatively high,” Cui said. “There must be a complete promotion strategy and enough financial backup,” he added.
Liu was not alone in efforts to upgrade this industry. The local government has a plan on building the China Music Valley, a national music industry park, to absorb musical talents and investments. The plan has been included in Beijing’s 12th Year Plan (2011-15) for the development of cultural and creative industry.
“The park will be a music making base incorporating instruments and audio products making, and attract music talents and financial resources to improve the added value of the current violin making sector here,” Zhao Wei said.
“It will be a new engine driving the economic growth of Pinggu district where donggaocun is located, with an aim of providing more job opportunities for local farmers to ensure they have a steady source of income,” Zhang Lixin, deputy director of Pinggu development and Reform Commission, said. It is estimated that 50,000 jobs will be created and the annual output value reach to 30 to 50 billion yuan($4.7 to 7.8 billion) when it is built.
Guo welcomes the advent of the music valley. She hopes that making violins can be a life-long job and believes the local livelihood will change positively in the future.