The seven strings of Yangzhou

In this street, running between historic Dongguan Street and the classical private garden Geyuan, the instrument is ubiquitous, holding absolute sway. The street was co-established in 2015 by a local cultural company and a Taiwan investment company.

Wang Junfeng, founder of the street, says he hopes to establish a platform of collaboration and exchange for guqin lovers from Yangzhou and Taiwan, and together promote China's traditional culture.

The street now has a complete value chain of guqin culture that integrates production, sales, instruction and performance. It has not only attracted many Yangzhou local guqin and guzheng (21-string Chinese zither) companies, but also those from outside the province and tourists from around the world.

Zhang Yu, representative of the company Musicraft Zhang in Tianjin, says: "Yangzhou has a particularly rich cultural atmosphere, especially its guqin culture, so we immediately chose to open a store in the street. We would like to promote the fusion between southern and northern guqin art."

In December Yangzhou added one more string to its bow as it looked to draw on its connections with the guqin: The Yangzhou Zither Culture Industrial Park was opened in the city's Ganquan Town, with a commercial street aimed at attracting tourists.

If those who love the guqin have their way, Yangzhou may one day be as renowned a center for the classical instrument as Vienna is for the violi