Blind Ah Bing to be remembered with musical month in Wuxi

A month-long series of events, including concerts and an erhu competition, are set to be held in Wuxi in memory of Hua Yanjun, known as Blind Ah Bing, China's most famous erhu player, according to a press conference held in the city on Aug 22.

Blind Ah Bing, a folk artist who lived in the old downtown area of Wuxi (now Liangxi district), earned his living by playing the erhu in the street and struggled with poverty for decades.

As 2018 marks the 125th anniversary of the birth of Blind Ah Bing, Liangxi district has decided to hold the series of events from Aug 26 to Sept 27 to promote traditional Chinese music and to celebrate the life of Blind Ah Bing.

A traditional Chinese music concert to salute Blind Ah Bing will be held on Aug 26, inviting famous players from inside and outside Jiangsu province such as Zhan Yongming, a dizi (bamboo flute) player from Shanghai.

As a highlight of the month, the four-day national erhu competition of the Prime Golden Bell Music Award of China will open in the district on Aug 27, gathering 177 teenage competitors from across the country.

"It's the first time for Liangxi district to hold such kind an event. As the home of erhu and Blind Ah Bing, we integrated relevant elements into this national-level competition, for example, we chose places that he used to live in as venues for the competition, including Huishan Ancient Town and Erquan Square," said Zhang Wei, a local official.

"Moreover, we are combining local culture and tourism to promote two cultural creative products and a well-known tourism route, to offer a better tourism experience for visitors and to let them experience the beauty of traditional Chinese music in Wuxi," added Zhang.