The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra has become the first local art group to receive the Ministry of Culture's prestigious Innovation Award, after developing a modern version of the huqin, a stringed instrument.
The orchestra's work on the bowed instrument was praised by the contest jury for successfully blending 1,000-year-old tradition with modern technology and introducing it to the world, Wang Feng, a ministry official, said on its website.
The orchestra was named last week as one of the 20 winners of the national prize among 144 entries from top institutions. Each winner will receive 20,000 yuan (HK$24,500) at a ceremony in Anhui later this year.
For Yan Huichang, the orchestra's artistic director who spearheaded its work on the huqin more than a decade ago, the prize vindicates years of hard work in the face of budget constraints and controversy.
The project involved adjusting the inner structure of the huqin, which comes in various sizes like the violin family in the West.
The biggest change was replacing the python skin that envelops the soundbox - which gives the huqin its unique sound - with a biodegradable synthetic membrane.
'There has been opposition to the change. We were accused of breaching time-honoured tradition,' said Yan. 'But when we were barred by countries [from performing] on animal rights grounds, and when our python-skinned instruments became unplayable due to changes in climate, we realised we had to go ahead with the changes,' he said.