Chating Shifan Music

Shifan music, popularly called 'shihuan' or 'shiban,' arose around Chating in Fuzhou's Taijiang district. Said to have evolved from folk dragon-lantern drumming, it is a traditional instrumental ensemble music heard across Fuzhou town and country.

Its band joins more than a dozen instruments—flute, coconut fiddle, cloud gongs, drums and gongs of various sizes—in lively, clearly rhythmic set tunes, once played for temple processions, weddings, funerals, celebrations and seasonal parades.

Chating shifan music preserves an old form of Fuzhou's folk instrumental ensemble, rich in local flavor, and was inscribed on the first national ICH list in 2006.

Centered on Chating in Taijiang, the music is spread through Fuzhou's towns and villages and can still be heard at festivals and folk events.