Traditional Musical Instruments of Xinjiang: The Sounds of the Silk Road
You hear Xinjiang before you understand it. Walk into any bazaar in Kashgar or sit down in a teahouse in Yining and there is a stringed instrument somewhere — plucked softly, or thrummed with a beat that makes your foot move. I spent an evening in a Uyghur teahouse where a single old man with a two-stringed dutar held the whole room without raising his voice. This guide explains the main Xinjiang musical instruments you’ll meet, what they sound like, and where to actually hear — and buy — them.
The instrument families you’ll meet
Xinjiang’s music is a crossing point. Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, and Hui traditions all overlap here, and so do their instruments. Most fall into three groups: long-necked lutes (plucked), bowed strings, and frame drums. The names vary by ethnicity, but the shapes are ancient and shared across the Silk Road, from Turkey to western China.
The dutar: the gentle two-stringed soul
The dutar (دۇتار) is the instrument of quiet moments. It has two silk or nylon strings, a pear-shaped body, and a soft, melancholic voice. Players pluck it with the fingers rather than a pick, producing a rolling, meditative sound. You’ll hear it in teahouses, at family gatherings, and as accompaniment to singing. It is the instrument most associated with Uyghur classical and folk repertoire, including the great festival performances of muqam.
How it sounds and where you’ll hear it
Think of a calm, reedy guitar with no fret buzz — intimate, not loud. In Kashgar’s Old Town you can still find elderly men playing dutar on wooden benches outside teahouses, especially in the late afternoon. It is free to listen; buying a pot of tea is the polite way to stay.
The rawap and the tanbur: longer-necked cousins
The rawap (راۋاپ) is a louder, brighter lute with a smaller body and (traditionally) strings made from animal gut, now usually nylon or steel. It often has a flattened, elongated soundbox and is played with a pick, giving a sharper attack — the lead voice in many ensembles. The tanbur (تەمبۇر) is even longer-necked, with a rounder, deeper body and a sustained, resonant tone used in classical muqam suites. If the dutar is conversation, the tanbur is a long, patient story.
The dap and other frame drums
No Xinjiang ensemble is complete without rhythm. The dap (داپ) is a large circular frame drum with small metal rings set into the rim that jingle as it is struck. Played with the hands, it drives the dance tunes. Smaller handheld drums appear at celebrations. The dap is the heartbeat you feel at a wedding or a festival square, and it is the easiest instrument for a visitor to immediately enjoy.
Quick reference: the main instruments
| Instrument | Type | Strings | Sound | Best heard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dutar | Plucked lute | 2 | Soft, meditative | Teahouses, homes |
| Rawap | Plucked lute | 5–6 | Bright, leading | Ensembles, festivals |
| Tanbur | Long lute | 5–6 | Deep, sustained | Muqam concerts |
| Dap | Frame drum | 0 (percussion) | Ringing, rhythmic | Weddings, squares |
| Ghijak | Bowed string | 3–4 | Reedy, vocal | Folk solo |
Where to actually hear (and buy) them
For listening, Kashgar’s Old Town is unbeatable — teahouses, the Id Kah square, and impromptu performances during festivals. Urumqi’s regional museum and cultural centers host formal muqam and folk concerts. For buying, the instrument shops on the edges of the big bazaars sell student-grade dutars for a few hundred yuan and decorative wall pieces for less. A real, playable rawap or tanbur costs more and is heavier to carry, but makes a meaningful souvenir.
Bazaars and instrument shops
In Kashgar and Hotan, ask at the musical-instrument stalls inside the bazaar; owners are usually players themselves and happy to demonstrate. Haggle gently, and if you want something that holds tune, ask to hear it strummed before you buy. Shipping a lute home is possible but fragile — bubble-wrap hard and consider a hard case.
The ghijak and the bowed strings
Less famous abroad but central at home is the ghijak, a bowed instrument with a small spherical body and a skin soundboard, played with a horsehair bow. Its voice is reedy and vocal, close to a human singing, which is why it often carries the melody in storytelling songs. You’ll hear it in folk solo performances more than in loud ensembles, and in the hands of a good player it can stop a room.
How the instruments are made
Traditional bodies are carved from mulberry, apricot, or walnut wood, with strings once made from silk or gut and now usually nylon or steel. The shape of the soundbox and the inlay are regional signatures, a Hotan dutar looks subtly different from one made in Kashgar. Watching a maker hollow and shape the wood is its own quiet education, and many bazaar shops welcome curious visitors who ask politely.
Trying one yourself
In some teahouses and cultural centers you can handle a dutar and pluck a few notes, the open strings and a simple melody are learnable in minutes, and hosts enjoy a visitor’s attempt. You won’t sound like a master, but the smile it earns is the real souvenir. Ask before touching an instrument on display, and never tune or restring one that isn’t yours.
Instruments from the grasslands
Kazakh and Kyrgyz musicians bring their own lutes, the dombra, a two-stringed brighter cousin of the dutar, and the kobyz, a bowed instrument often strung with horsehair. On the Ili grasslands and in mountain yurts you’re as likely to hear a dombra as a dutar. The shapes differ, but the role is the same, a portable, singable companion to a long evening far from any city.
The mistakes worth avoiding
The trap here: Most famous uyghur instrument
The dutar is the most iconic and widespread, closely tied to Uyghur folk and classical muqam music. The rawap and tanbur are nearly as famous and appear in most ensembles. If you remember one name, remember “dutar.”
Where people slip: Buying a real dutar as a souvenir
Yes. Student models are affordable and widely sold in bazaar instrument shops. Check that it holds tune and the body has no cracks. A soft case is fine for a dutar; a rawap or tanbur needs a hard case if you’re flying with it.
The usual error: Hear live music in xinjiang
Teahouses in Kashgar and Yining for informal playing; cultural centers and the regional museum in Urumqi for staged concerts; and any festival square during Eid or Nowruz for open-air performance. Evenings are the best time.
Easy to get this wrong: Okay to record musicians
Ask first, especially in a paid venue or a formal concert. In a casual teahouse, a polite gesture and a purchase (tea, a tip) usually earns permission to film a short clip. Never film people’s faces without consent.
The trap here: Difference between a dutar and a tanbur
Both are long-necked lutes, but the dutar has two soft strings and a mellow, intimate voice played by finger-plucking, while the tanbur has more strings, a deeper body, and a sustained, resonant tone used in classical suites. The rawap sits between them — brighter and pick-played.
