"This treble saxophone and Kenny G play" Go Home "in the same style. There are so many old instruments, so they are very precious!" Shi Qiumin, 63, is busy explaining musical instrument knowledge to tourists visiting the "World · Musical Instrument Museum" in Zhouwo Village, Zhouwo Town, Wuqiang County, Hengshui City, Hebei Province.

When young people laugh at themselves and live like old people, these real old people are redefining youth with their own way of life. They constantly learn new skills and use music to play their "hot search".

"I also like cutting videos by myself. The most popular video has more than 10 million reviews." Shi Qiumin is known as "Shi Quanneng". He has written about 1300 musical instruments collected in the "World · Musical Instrument Museum". After retirement, Shi Qiumin served as the curator of the "World · Musical Instrument Museum". Apart from playing musical instruments every day, he also spontaneously popularized music knowledge for everyone, and the pace of life was no less than that of young people.

In addition to personal interests, Shi Qiumin believes that the more important thing is the impact of the environment. Wuqiang County, Hengshui City, where he lives, is the production base of Chinese orchestral instruments. At present, there are 63 western musical instrument manufacturers in the county, whose products cover more than 400 kinds and sell well in more than 80 countries and regions. While music has changed the local area, it has also deeply affected people here.

Guo Guishang, a 74 year old drum player from Zhouwo Village, Wuqiang County, has a deep understanding of this. "Most of the old people in the village order western musical instruments, and they spontaneously rehearse together during the slack season." Guo Guishang said that today, more and more overseas musicians come to Zhouwo Village, and they often exchange music together.

On July 5, Guo Guishang (second from left)'s band was rehearsing the song "The Story of a Small Town". Photographed by Zhao Danmei

"Although I don't understand foreign languages, music is the best way to communicate." Guo Guishang said with a smile that since she joined the farmer band organized by villagers in 2012, what impressed her was that a young man from Nigeria liked her snare drum very much. "He said that African drums are popular in his country, and he would like to try small snare drums to see the difference."

Music makes more and more elderly people in the village jump out of the traditional life mode of "turning around children and grandchildren". They cross the "digital divide" and are keen to show themselves and share life on the network platform.

Guo Guishang said that the band would play for free whenever there was a need, and teammates would upload performance videos to the network, and netizens praised their performance.

Not only that, but also the old people from neighboring villages came to "make fun of".

"I like to ride a bike to shoot everywhere. One group of us will tell villagers where there is a performance every day, so I will shoot it and have fun." Hao Dashan, an 80 year old villager in Zhifangtou Village, Zhouwo Town, brings his mobile phone and tripod every day. After the live broadcast is completed, he will edit selected clips and upload them to the network platform. Over the past year, Hao Dashan has more than 10000 fans.

Tourist guestbook and tape shaped signboard gathered in different languages... Since 2012, Zhouwo Village has transformed itself into a rural music town with full cultural atmosphere relying on the local musical instrument industry. In 2022, Zhouwo Music Town will attract 320000 tourists, as well as German, Spanish and other overseas tourists.

It is understood that at present, nearly 80% of the labor force in Zhouwo Village are engaged in music related work at the "gate", and many foreigners with music dreams come here to start businesses.

"In Zhouwo, music is no longer out of reach. Here is the 'Oriental Vienna' with an earthy atmosphere," said Hao Dashan. (Author Zhao Danmei and Cui Zhiping)

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