Zhushan Township in China, which previously suffered from poverty, has transformed into a major violin production center, exporting 400,000 instruments annually. This region, which had no historical connection to musical instrument making, now possesses a complete production chain covering wood processing, component carving, painting, and finishing.
According to local industry data, over 2,600 residents work in this sector. Furthermore, about 80% of the violins produced in Zhushan are exported, and most of the wood used is imported, according to Jian Baolin, Secretary-General of the Zhushan Violin Makers Association.
Judgment Over Formula
The history of this industry's development began not with resources or ports, but with people. Starting in the 1980s, residents of Zhushan moved to Beijing to learn the art of violin making, and some opened their own workshops there. However, around the mid-2010s, the situation changed: many masters from Zhushan began returning home, aided by local incentives for industry development. They brought back skills, client bases, and connections accumulated over decades.
Wang Jinwu became one such master. He entered the profession almost accidentally. With little formal education, his initial goal was simply to work hard enough to support himself. Wang left Henan Province for Beijing at the age of 16 or 17 and started training at a violin factory. After six or seven years working in factories, in the mid-1990s, he began working independently. His first workshop produced only four or five violins per month, but over time, he developed his business and established contacts with international buyers.
One wholesale distributor from the USA has been collaborating with him for nearly two decades, purchasing over 2,000 instruments annually, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of Wang's annual output. In 2017, Wang relocated his factory from Beijing to Tianjin, and then returned it to Zhushan in 2023, noting that he felt more rooted after coming home. By then, he had formed an international client base, and trade fairs became an important channel for finding new buyers. Wang's company has participated in instrument exhibitions in China, the USA, Germany, Japan, and Italy. He reported that about 90% of his sales go to the United States, with smaller batches sent to Italy, the Czech Republic, and Finland.
According to Wang, making one violin takes about a month and a half. The process is divided into six main stages and numerous minor tasks. Only varnishing can require more than 20 cycles of application, drying, and sanding. A significant part of the work depends on professional judgment, which is difficult to reduce to a formula. Workers master each stage sequentially, often requiring two to three months to achieve competence, while full mastery takes many years. Wang views every violin as a work of art, not as a commodity.
Repetitive, Focused Work
The development of local suppliers and auxiliary enterprises has also influenced the operational model of the industry in Zhushan. Instead of relying entirely on large centralized factories, production is distributed among various workshops and households. Some workers specialize in one stage and are paid per unit produced. Others may take parts home and manage their own working hours.
For Xiong, who also farms, this flexibility is highly valuable as she can make violin parts while staying close to her family. Liu, who has been in the field for nearly ten years, also values the ability to work near home. This model has helped transform a craft, once learned in distant factories, into a source of rural employment.
However, this structure also reveals certain limitations of the industry. Wang noted that after his return in 2023, he hired over 10 young people, but few remained. Violin making requires long periods of monotonous, focused work, and some young employees prefer activities that allow them more mobility. In his view, the skills themselves are difficult to standardize; experienced masters rely not only on measurements but also on intuition and vision honed over years of practice.
Master Xiong Kaifeng returned to Zhushan after years of working on violins in Beijing and now focuses on creating high-quality performance instruments. He produces about 20 violins and 10 cellos annually, along with a smaller number of altos. For such masters, the priority is improving quality and strengthening the recognition of handmade items from Zhushan.
Much More To Be Learned
Zhushan is currently planning the creation of an industrial park, as well as facilities for training, research, and instrument evaluation. Local authorities are also interested in enabling masters to create their own brands and move beyond contract manufacturing.
Wang is also moving in this direction with his company. He aims to use more carefully selected wood, improve the thickness of the decks, and produce more instruments with consistently high sound quality. Under conditions he describes as a market slowdown, he is currently producing about 2,000–3,000 instruments per year, compared to over 4,000 during a specific period. One instrument he is particularly proud of is a cello that won first place at the First National Exhibition of Educational Equipment for Violins in 2019. It was later sold at auction to a teacher for 80,000 yuan (approximately $193,125).
Returning home did not mean closing off from the outside world. In September 2025, Wang visited Cremona, Italy, the birthplace of the famous master Antonio Stradivari, to attend the International Cremona Musica Exhibition and Festival, an international trade fair for musical instruments. During the trip, he visited local workshops to observe masters and study their methods. He found that the violin making process at every stage in his own factory proceeds more slowly, with higher standards for wood selection. Wang noted: 'Italian violin making has a much longer history, and we still have much to learn.'
This is perhaps the clearest picture of the Zhushan violin industry: a craft learned elsewhere, brought home, and adapted to the rural economy, while its masters continue to look outward for clients, knowledge, and new ways of improvement.