A SOUND museum was set up Monday in Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, to preserve the culture, in particular the music, of the Tibetan people.

Covering an area of only 180 square meters, the micromuseum is home to an array of traditional Tibetan musical instruments, audio and video materials of Tibetan music and precious musical scores. It is the first sound museum established in a Tibetan area of Sichuan.

“To build this museum, we have invited top-notch artists nationwide. Listening to the sound of these instruments is like visiting an audible map of Tibetan-inhabited areas,” said Du Dong, the museum’s project manager.

In China, Tibetans mainly live in the Tibet Autonomous Region and parts of Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan provinces.

The musical instruments including small bells usually hung in front of temples, dharma drums and ancient plucked instruments are made of materials such as brass and animal bones with delicate carvings.

Du said it was hard to find the traditional ancient musical scores, but they are still kept and used in many Tibetan monasteries.

“Through sound, the exhibits can help preserve the precious cultural memory of the Tibetans, and Tibetan people travelling far away can hear the call of their homeland,” Du said.

(Xinhua)