Traditional Chinese musical instruments include guzheng, pipa, erhu, xiao and so on.

WHEN Wu Man arrived in New Haven, Connecticut, from Beijing in 1990 she spoke no English and gambled on surviving with the help of her pipa, a traditional lute-like Chinese instrument.

During her time in America, Ms Wu has daringly expanded the pipa's range, playing jazz, bluegrass and Bollywood with eclectic instrumentalists—and inspiring numerous works from prominent composers.