Saxophone village plucks new strings for growth

Sidangkouzhong is a name that is hardly known to the outside world and even most of China. But the nondescript village in Jinghai district of North China's Tianjin municipality has been thriving thanks to its instrument-making industry, or largely saxophones.

Known as the "Saxophone Village" of China, Sidangkouzhong is now looking to move up the value chain by making more high-end products, amid renewed efforts to sustain its mass production of original entrusted manufacturing through industrial upgrades.

Saxophones, named after their Belgian inventor Adolphe Sax, have been the lifeline of the village with a population of 5,000 people. Sidangkouzhong accounts for half of the world's total output with an industrial value of over 400 million yuan ($57.1 million), according to local authorities.