In the 1990s, a saxophone built by Li Zengchao and his team was used as a diplomatic gift, which made Longkou a highlight moment as China's “cradle of saxophone”.

“This is the thing that makes me most proud. That saxophone made the Longkou wind instrument a blockbuster and reached the top of the industry."Recalling the situation of creating this classic masterpiece back then, Li Zengchao was still excited.

Longkou's musical instruments have since won a reputation for “made in China” for western musical instruments. Dalijia Village is known as the “incubator” of Longkou wind instrument manufacturers, which has written a strong contribution to the development of Longkou's cultural industry.

The story begins in the 1980s. There is a copper hot pot production plant in Dalijia Village. Li Zengchao, who is in his early 30s, is working as a skilled worker here.In 1987, the Beijing Wind Instrument Factory set up a branch in Dalijia Village, and the branch was transferred to wind instruments. Li Zengchao also played cross-border and learned to play saxophone.

At that time, the “Xinghai” brand musical instruments produced by the Beijing Wind Instrument Factory were well-known all over the country, and this branch in Dalijia Village was also one of the few manufacturers that could mass produce saxophone.

“The heavy responsibility of doing state ceremonies for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs falls on us."Li Zengchao said.

From the large horn mouth to the small screw cap, more than 900 parts are used for a saxophone. In addition to machine production, more than 50 parts need to be assembled by hand, but the manual link guarantees the saxophone's pitch, timbre, and sensitivity of the mechanical linkage of the keys. It is almost the core, and the technical requirements are extremely high.

After continuous improvement and innovation, the saxophone manufactured by Li Zengchao's team has passed the appraisal of the musical instrument industry and wind music experts in the military orchestra. The pitch, timbre, and sensitivity of the key mechanical linkage of the product are all highly recognized.

Based on the unique geographical relationship of the local society, the craftsmen who mastered their skills earlier, including Li Zengchao, combined with their own characteristics and experience summary, passed down ten or ten times, attracting more and more villagers to join. Musical instrument production skills have formed a specific cultural inheritance in this small village, and the “hand-made” skills are permeating every corner of people's lives in a cultural form, promoting the reconstruction of rural culture and ecology.

Compared with other “hand-made in Shandong”, wind instruments can be called “foreign things”.However, it is precisely thanks to the regional and intergenerational inheritance of skills that the cultural production tradition thus formed took root in the villages of the Dali family. The development of wind instruments was engraved with the regional characteristics of Shandong, and it was also for the later vigorous development of the soul.

Longkou East Star Musical Instruments Co., Ltd., founded by Li Zengchao, after years of technical research and reform and innovation, has carried out technological innovation on the basis of the original handmade production, turned the tire clamp mold into mechanical equipment production, and successively perfected the production of 11 kinds of saxophone series products.

In the meantime, East Star Musical Instruments was modeled on the antique C saxophone provided by the New Zealand Musical Instrument Company and manufactured the first C saxophone in China, which became an important milestone in the development history of Longkou wind instruments.