The erhu is a traditional Chinese musical instrument that is sometimes known by Westerners as the Chinese fiddle. One erhu maker in Beijing is striving to keep this ancient tradition alive. But what he makes are not the conventional erhus; in fact, you can actually put his work in your pocket and carry it around.

The erhu is a traditional Chinese musical instrument that is sometimes known by Westerners as the Chinese fiddle.

Wang Jun specializes in making traditional Chinese musical instruments. Born into a family of musical instrument makers, Wang has always been interested in old crafts.

He has been working as a professional musical instrument maker for decades, but it was not until 2003 that he realized there was a new horizon for him: making miniature instruments.

“A foreign friend of mine wanted to bring some traditional Chinese instruments to his country, but he was afraid the real ones might be too big for the trip, so he asked me if I could make miniature ones. That was the first time I thought about making miniature instruments. I was surprised to learn that there were miniature violins, and you could actually play it just like a real violin,” he said.

Ever since, Wang has been making miniature instruments and winning international awards, including the Guinness World Record in 2004 for the world’s smallest erhu, which measures just 4.7 cm long and a golden award at last year’s Milano World Expo.

“I think miniature models can show traditional Chinese instruments to a wider audience. The standard of making miniature instruments is just as strick as making the real ones. You have to use the best materials to make a quality minature,” Wang said.

Now, Wang is making a variety of traditional Chinese instruments, including the pipa and guqin. He uses these tiny miniatures to introduce Chinese culture to a bigger stage.