SHANGHAI - Music China 2011, a grand gathering of musical instruments in the Asia-Pacific Region, was unveiled at Shanghai New International Expo Center on Tuesday.

The four-day event, co-sponsored by China Musical Instrument Association, INTEX Shanghai Co Ltd and Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, displays exhibits from more than 1,400 companies in 29 countries and regions including Germany, France, Britain, the United States, Finland and Denmark, said Yan Minjie, spokeswoman from INTEX Shanghai Co Ltd.

The show also featured 10 pavilions from Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia, China's Taiwan, the Netherlands and Britain, adding colour to its 10th anniversary, said Yan.

It has set a new record in terms of exhibition space with an additional 3,500 square meters of temporary halls, bringing the total amount of space up to 78,500 square meters.

She said the increased space has accommodated strong exhibitor demand for larger sized booths and more than 95 per cent of the exhibition space was sold to such brands as Bluethner, Casio, ESI, Fazioli, Fender and Feurich.

Varieties of musical instruments are on display, involving brass, stringed, percussion, woodwind, electronics and electric, Yan said.

While Music China is celebrating its 10th anniversary, two of its exhibitors are also celebrating their anniversaries, she said.

Feurich, a German piano manufacturer specializing in top-tier grand and upright pianos, which opened for business 160 years ago, is celebrating its anniversary by showcasing exhibits at the show.

"We recognize the strong demand in China for high quality products and are confident in presenting our handcrafted pianos,'' said Julius Feurich, owner of Feurich.

His words were echoed by Reinhold Meinl, executive director of Germany's Meinl Cymbals & Percussion, a percussion and accessory exhibitor, who said ``the passion for music is what keeps the older and newer generations of our family business going.''

As a fast-growing market, China created sales of 21.53 billion yuan for its musical instrument industry last year, up 22.91 per cent over 2009, said An Zhi, president of China Musical Instrument Association.

"With the improvement of people's living standards, China will surely provide a huge market potential for the sales of musical instruments,'' An said.

Music China 2011, the sister show of Musikmesse held in Germany, is running with Prolight and Sound Shanghai, an international show for the event and communication technology, AV-production and entertainment industries.