Instruments used in Hanyue.[Photo/VCG]

In Guangdong, Hanyue has kept the main features of the musical style from the ancient Central Plains, while at the same, as society progresses, it has mixed with local musical elements and become a creative genre that has incorporated both the traditional and new.

Hanyue is divided into five categories: silk string (the most common), qing (also called Confucian music, which is favored by intellectuals and generally performed using the guzheng, lute and erhu), 'big gong and drum' music (generally performed in village processions and religious festivals with a suona accompanied by gongs and drums), zhongjunban music (mainly performed by professional folk groups at weddings and funerals using the suona accompanied by silk stringed instruments, gongs and drums) and temple music (used in religious rituals).