Young Woman Expands Musical-Instrument Business to North America

Cheng Jiali tunes a guqin, a plucked seven-string instrument similar in some ways to the zither. [Xinhua/Dong Hui]

Cheng Jiali, a 24-year-old woman from Yangzhou in east China's Jiangsu Province, has now expanded to North America her guqin business, whose sales are expected only to increase following the cross-continental growth.

Cheng, who has held from an early age a great passion for the guqin — a plucked seven-string instrument similar in some ways to the zither — started her own guqin company upon graduating from university.

In the beginning, many customers and potential clients had doubts about her qualifications and experience — because of her young age — and refused to do business with her.

Faced with the setback, Cheng began to visit various musical-instrument exhibitions to gather marketing experience and broaden her horizons. She then decided to expand her market, and by extension her guqin business itself, via e-commerce.

The product quality of a guqin can often be gauged by its timbre, the exact sound it produces. In an effort to earn the trust of prospective customers, Cheng added audio and video to the already-existing pictures within the online descriptions and introductions of her products. As a result, her website and brand stand out from those of her competition and have played a far-from-insignificant role in her business's growing popularity.

The North American Guqin Association, based in San Francisco, has even reached out to Cheng for business cooperation.

With an increase in orders, Cheng's company has also expanded the staff from a mere handful of workers to dozens of team members. "Some young people who love guqin culture have even asked to learn to make guqin under us," said Cheng.

At present, Cheng's company sells hundreds of affordably priced guqins and tens of high-end models per year, with annual sales that now exceed 2 million yuan (U.S. $322,310).

Meanwhile, her guqin business has also provided employment opportunities to local villagers, helping to increase their income.

"I hope to sell my guqin around the world so as to get more and more people to know about the profound Chinese guqin culture," said Cheng.

(Source: Yangzhou Daily/Translated and edited by Women of China)