More than 2,000 years ago, there were many instruments in China, including bell, chime, drum and Xun (an egg-shaped, holed wind instrument). There appeared more wind instruments, plucked string instruments and bowed string instruments, and national Orchestral Music was well developed in ancient times. The most influential orchestras in history are wind music (Guchuiyue) in the Han Dynasty and Yanyue in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The first one mainly consists of percussion instruments and the latter one focuses on tender music.
The locations of the imperial capitals in ancient times are the centers of the transmission, orchestras and maestros of folk music today. Among the diverse musical instruments in China, those from the ethnic minorities also hold an important position
