A part of a Dunhuang mural featuring ancient musical instrument [Photo provided to gogansu.com]

An exhibition featuring 25 restored ancient musical instruments painted with the Dunhuang murals was recently held in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province, to boost understanding of Dunhuang culture.

From April 2018, masters of ethnic musical instruments from Beijing, Shanghai, Yangzhou, Suzhou and other areas of the country were invited to undertake the restoration work. Staff members from the Dunhuang Academy also carefully restored the mural patterns on the instruments.

At present, there are 245 musical instruments of 97 types that have been restored according to the graphics in the Dunhuang murals. The imitation of musical instruments adopts twelve equal temperaments. While restoring their shapes as much as possible, replicas have been made so that they can be played.

The event is sponsored by the Publicity Department of the Gansu Provincial Party Committee, and organized by the Gansu Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Dunhuang Academy and the Gansu Cultural Industry Development Group.