--FILE--Pipa, a quattro corde cinese strumento musicale, realizzata da artigiano cinese Li Zhaolin è visualizzato nel suo studio di Suzhou City, est della Cina di
--FILE--Pipa, a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument, made by Chinese craftsman Li Zhaolin is displayed at his studio in Suzhou city, east China's Jiangsu province, 14 March 2018. Chinese craftsman Li Zhaolin spent 42 years making traditional musical instruments, including Pipa, guzheng and Ruan, in Suzhou city, east China's Jiangsu province. Li was fond of playing Pipa and learnt to make traditional musical instruments when he was 16 years old. He intended to hand down the skills of making traditional musical instruments but no one was willing to learn. Suzhou, a city located in the south of Jiangsu province, has a long history of making musical instruments. Its techniques and the local characteristics of the instruments have made them famous at home and abroad. In 2008, the making of musical instruments in Suzhou was selected as one of China¯s national intangible cultural heritages. The making of musical instruments in Suzhou combines unique skills of several traditional handicrafts. There are dozens of steps required, including wood cuts, wood working, polishing, carving, lacquering, inlay and tuning. Although today some processes are done by machine, most still are done by hand. In every step, the makers try to achieve perfection. Each instrument must have a good quality of sound, as well as decorations pertaining to ethnic heritage.