Feature: Music teacher from northwest China's Xinjiang pursues a life of accordions collection
                 Source: Xinhua | 2017-08-07 15:42:26 | Editor: huaxia

Dawuran Dvxakan is playing the accordion

URUMQI, Aug. 7 (Xinhua)-- Dawuran Dvxakan is an ordinary music teacher in Tacheng, a town on China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. His hobby -- collecting accordions -- has made this 46-year-old man well-known far and wide.

Over the past 30 years, the man has collected more than 400 accordions from home and abroad and kept them at his three-room home. He has been called by locals as "accordion maniac."

Dawuran's home-based accordion museum is tucked away atop a residential building in Tacheng. His precious collection takes up almost every corner of his house: on shelves, tables, floors or even beds. Dawuran knows every piece of his collection very well. Whenever he has the time, he just sits down and plays the instrument. As the tweedle is on, Dawuran immerses himself in the musical world.

The family accordion museum of Dawuran

Dawuran's passion for accordions started at a young age. When he was 9 years old, a wedding ceremony in the neighborhood gave him the chance to know the accordion for the first time in his life. "It's love at the first sight," recalled Dawuran, saying he was enchanted when he heard the pleasant music by accordion.

"I can still remember the happy scenes at the wedding, when everybody were dancing and singing to the music merrily," Dawuran said, barely able to contain his excitement. The tweedle of the accordion lasted for the entire night, so the little Dawuran stayed up, listening attentively to the music despite the drowsiness and his family members' repeated calls for going home.

But an accordion is one rung higher on the ladder for Dawuran's family, a six-member household supported by the meager wage of Dawuran's father. To get his own accordion, Dawuran has waited for two more years.

"It was on a morning when I woke up, I was surprised to find a red accordion by my side. I jumped out of bed immediately, full of excitement," Dawuran said. As a matter of fact, it was his father who sold a calf in order to get the accordion for the son in exchange.

Dawuran is testing a harmonica

Dawuran was so fond of the accordion that he couldn't stand a minute to take his hands off it, and he learned to play the hit TV series songs. It soon turned out that whenever there was a party or celebration nearby, Dawuran would always make his presence, entertaining crowds with his accordion.

In the year of 1988, Dawuran was admitted by Tacheng normal college for studies in music. After training of some time, Dawuran was sad to realize he was utterly ignorant of music and the way he used to play the accordion was full of mistakes. For the next three years, Dawuran studied very hard and threw himself into strenuous training. His hard work paid off eventually. Dawuran graduated as a top student from the college, and without much trouble, he was employed as a music teacher in a local school.

Dawuran reached another turning point in his life when he visited relatives in Kazakhstan. He was surprised to find that almost every household in the country collected accordions, and some of them were of high quality. Later on, he traveled to more countries, including those members of former Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, Ukraine and etc. The accordions from these countries has seized all his attention. Unable to resist the temptation, Dawuran has spent money in purchasing different kinds of accordions.

Some of Dawuran's accordions collection

As time rolls on, Dawuran keeps traveling across border between China and Kazakhstan, collecting more quality accordions. There was a time when Dawuran visited a 80-year-old collector living in Pavlodar Region, Kazakhstan, three times on end, only to persuade the collector to sell him a German accordion he liked.

"It's a quite strange feeling, as if I could talk with the accordion," Dawuran said. "They told me what they have been through, some were once owned by noble families, others were discarded in a cattle pen or chicken coop."

Dawuran and his accordions collection

Dawuran's passion for accordions has touched many hearts. His friends and neighbors have offered help to him, all in search for fine accordions on his part. With the support of local government, he has also helped set up a museum in Tacheng, where 700 accordions are kept, including purchases of 333 accordions and private donations.

After so many years of learning to play the accordion and collecting the musical instruments, Dawuran has developed good skills to repair them. "The accordion is just like a loyal friend of mine," said the music teacher."I know how to repair broken ones to regain a new life."

Back to Top Close
Xinhuanet

Feature: Music teacher from northwest China's Xinjiang pursues a life of accordions collection

Source: Xinhua 2017-08-07 15:42:26

Dawuran Dvxakan is playing the accordion

URUMQI, Aug. 7 (Xinhua)-- Dawuran Dvxakan is an ordinary music teacher in Tacheng, a town on China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. His hobby -- collecting accordions -- has made this 46-year-old man well-known far and wide.

Over the past 30 years, the man has collected more than 400 accordions from home and abroad and kept them at his three-room home. He has been called by locals as "accordion maniac."

Dawuran's home-based accordion museum is tucked away atop a residential building in Tacheng. His precious collection takes up almost every corner of his house: on shelves, tables, floors or even beds. Dawuran knows every piece of his collection very well. Whenever he has the time, he just sits down and plays the instrument. As the tweedle is on, Dawuran immerses himself in the musical world.

The family accordion museum of Dawuran

Dawuran's passion for accordions started at a young age. When he was 9 years old, a wedding ceremony in the neighborhood gave him the chance to know the accordion for the first time in his life. "It's love at the first sight," recalled Dawuran, saying he was enchanted when he heard the pleasant music by accordion.

"I can still remember the happy scenes at the wedding, when everybody were dancing and singing to the music merrily," Dawuran said, barely able to contain his excitement. The tweedle of the accordion lasted for the entire night, so the little Dawuran stayed up, listening attentively to the music despite the drowsiness and his family members' repeated calls for going home.

But an accordion is one rung higher on the ladder for Dawuran's family, a six-member household supported by the meager wage of Dawuran's father. To get his own accordion, Dawuran has waited for two more years.

"It was on a morning when I woke up, I was surprised to find a red accordion by my side. I jumped out of bed immediately, full of excitement," Dawuran said. As a matter of fact, it was his father who sold a calf in order to get the accordion for the son in exchange.

Dawuran is testing a harmonica

Dawuran was so fond of the accordion that he couldn't stand a minute to take his hands off it, and he learned to play the hit TV series songs. It soon turned out that whenever there was a party or celebration nearby, Dawuran would always make his presence, entertaining crowds with his accordion.

In the year of 1988, Dawuran was admitted by Tacheng normal college for studies in music. After training of some time, Dawuran was sad to realize he was utterly ignorant of music and the way he used to play the accordion was full of mistakes. For the next three years, Dawuran studied very hard and threw himself into strenuous training. His hard work paid off eventually. Dawuran graduated as a top student from the college, and without much trouble, he was employed as a music teacher in a local school.

Dawuran reached another turning point in his life when he visited relatives in Kazakhstan. He was surprised to find that almost every household in the country collected accordions, and some of them were of high quality. Later on, he traveled to more countries, including those members of former Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, Ukraine and etc. The accordions from these countries has seized all his attention. Unable to resist the temptation, Dawuran has spent money in purchasing different kinds of accordions.

Some of Dawuran's accordions collection

As time rolls on, Dawuran keeps traveling across border between China and Kazakhstan, collecting more quality accordions. There was a time when Dawuran visited a 80-year-old collector living in Pavlodar Region, Kazakhstan, three times on end, only to persuade the collector to sell him a German accordion he liked.

"It's a quite strange feeling, as if I could talk with the accordion," Dawuran said. "They told me what they have been through, some were once owned by noble families, others were discarded in a cattle pen or chicken coop."

Dawuran and his accordions collection

Dawuran's passion for accordions has touched many hearts. His friends and neighbors have offered help to him, all in search for fine accordions on his part. With the support of local government, he has also helped set up a museum in Tacheng, where 700 accordions are kept, including purchases of 333 accordions and private donations.

After so many years of learning to play the accordion and collecting the musical instruments, Dawuran has developed good skills to repair them. "The accordion is just like a loyal friend of mine," said the music teacher."I know how to repair broken ones to regain a new life."

010020070750000000000000011100001365060311