After her graduation in 2015, she joined the Zide Guqin Studio. The following year, Bai helped the studio stage its first commercial show at a local theater.

After that, the studio started to hold regular concerts for guqin enthusiasts, who relished the prospect of attending a live show.

Additionally, Bai also posted her solo shows on the short video-sharing platform Douyin, performing both time-honored tunes and modern compositions, which won her more than 400,000 followers.

"The algorithm will recommend my videos to many people who don't know much about guqin, enabling them to enjoy its charm. That might lead to a higher level of public appreciation someday," says Bai.

The studio has certainly drawn people's attention to the instrument and its repertoire.

About 1,500 students from across the country are following the group's online guqin training sessions, and nearly 70 percent of them are aged between 16 and 30.

"The key for guqin to be passed down in a sustainable way is to grow its fan base－getting more people interested in the ancient art," says Zhu Liyue, manager of the studio. "The more diverse the ways we use to approach it, the more fascinating it will be."

Zhu, who majored in computer engineering, was captivated by the guqin in 2009 since he found that it has a unique ability to soothe the mind.

"Intensive practices were very boring at the start," Zhu recalls of his learning experience, "but, after my two-hand technique reached a certain level that allowed me to freely express myself using the instrument, it brought me so much fun."

He also points out that learners should treat the guqin as a common member of the instrument family, rather than something that should be put on a pedestal.

The studio has pledged to produce a series of programs to get the public closer to guqin and other traditional instruments, and release more videos that recreate the image of ancient people with background music provided by guqin players, Zhu says.

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