Drums made in C China's Henan shine on international stage

During a recent NBA Portland Trail Blazers home game, a performance featuring a number of Chinese elements such as Chinese drums amazed the audience, particularly making the drum makers in central China's Henan Province proud.

The drums were produced in Matun village, Yanshi district in Luoyang city of Henan. "The drums were made by me," said Wang Kuaijing, head of the drum making association of Matun village, who immediately recognized the drums after watching the video of the performance. "I feel very excited and I'm proud to see drums made in my village grace an international stage again."

A villager checks a drum in Matun village, Yanshi district, Luoyang city, central China's Henan Province, Dec., 19 2024. (China News Service/Han Zhangyun)

Wang added that the village received an order for 40 drums with dragon patterns along with inscriptions in both Chinese and English in July 2024. These were the drums used in the performance during the NBA game.

Matun is known for drum making in China, with two-thirds of its 3,500-plus villagers engaging in the drum making industry. The village has an annual sale volume of drums exceeding 100 million yuan (about $13.64 million), creating 10,000 job opportunities for residents in neighboring villages and towns. Now the village boasts a complete drum industrial chain, including over 300 drum-making enterprises and hundreds of leather industries.

An iconic display of the drum made in Matun was a drumming performance during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. In recent years, Matun drums have been exported to various countries and regions including the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asian countries through e-commerce channels. In 2024, the village received an order of 4,000 drums from Malaysia and an order of 1,000 drums from Japan.

A villager makes a drum in Matun village, Yanshi district, Luoyang city, central China's Henan Province, Dec., 19 2024. (China News Service/Han Zhangyun)

As the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Snake approaches, the village is seeing an increasing number of orders, entering their busiest season. The rhythmic sounds of drum-making across the village and red drums of various sizes add a strong festive atmosphere to the upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations.

"All factories are busy manufacturing drums and shipping them," said Wang. She added that over 200 drums were produced daily at her family's factory, with orders from provinces such as Shandong, Gansu, Qinghai, and Guangdong.