OrientalMusicSanctuary Lacquered Aged Paulownia Guqin - 7-string Chinese Zither (Fuxi Style)

If you are like me, you are looking at this because you have found the guqin captivating, and think you would like to learn it, but you aren't entirely sure -- and you want to spend as little as possible while still getting a good enough instrument to learn on. This is probably the guqin you want. Full disclosure - I'm a westerner who has very little familiarity with the instrument, and I do not have anything to compare it to... but I have bough several stringed instruments in many price ranges, and I have seen the best and the worst of them. This is, of course, not going to match up with a hand carved instrument from the finest woods available. But you likely knew that. When I ordered this, I expected it to take a month and a half. It came in in just over two weeks - extremely well packed, as well. It was surprisingly close to being in tune, so the setup seems solid. It didn't take long to refine the tuning and just start experimenting. There's a slight laquer smell, but nothing offensive, and it largely dissipated after opening the package. It shipped with an instructional book (in Chinese, as you'd expect) and a couple of bits of a "no slip" mat and a microfiber - and a soft case. I'm assuming the no-slip bits are to place under the instrument when you lean it up against the wall, assuming you aren't hanging it up. At least that's what I'm using it for. (Edit: this wasn’t the intention, it’s for putting under the tuning pegs and the goose feet- but it also works good for how I use it) The guqin itself? In short, I am blown away by the quality of this for what I paid. I've spent about this much on other instruments, and I've had them come in poorly packed, or with rusty strings, or some other problem. No problems here. The dots line up where you'd expect them to on the scale, and everything feels tightly assembled - I have no concerns about the durability of the instrument. Placing it on my table and trying to play, I can't help but smile - the sound travels quite nicely through the table to the floor, and you can feel it in your feet. Moving it to my lap, it is subdued enough to learn on without disturbing others. Again, I can't compare to other guqins, but this is so much better than anything I expected for the price. It reminds me of the plywood Kay Cellos/Basses in terms of how it feels - solid, good to learn on, and playable, but probably not what you'd take as the lead into a concert hall. But, you know, 1/10th the price. It's a bit too early to say how this holds up long term - I'll come back in a while with more to say, but for now I am completely surprised in the best possible way at this. Even if you just like the look of this and want to hang it up on your wall, you'll be happy with this, but I believe this will be a great instrument to learn on.

I didn’t know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and sound. It even came with a padded carrying bag. While obviously not the quality of a fancy high end model, it’s decent enough to learn on and if nothing else makes a lovely statement piece in my living room.

Extremely beautiful instrument, I absolutely love this Guqin. It’s a lovely reddish brown color that slowly ages to Black. It’s extremely well made it has sturdy strings which is very important when playing. Although I have never personally owned Guqin many of my friends of Asian dissent did so I happened to see some growing up. They took classes is various classical instruments. I always wanted one since I was a child. I believe this Paulowina Guqin is perfect for a true beginner like myself as well as a great travel Guqin for preforming. It has a soft yet powerful sound that carries well throughout a room. I also recommend getting the Fuxi style they seem to be the most popular style on YouTube it would make it easier to learn if you have the most popular model. I also recommend buying the hard case that you see in my photos and videos.

I ordered this on December 28, 2025 and received it January 7th! The order said it would arrive between January 14 to the 29th so I was extremely happy and surprised to have it so fast. The box label said it came from Hong Kong. The box was in excellent condition with no damage. The instrument was packed well and inside its fabric carry case. There was also an great instruction book included that would have helped a lot but it was all in Chinese. The instrument came pre-tuned and in perfect condition. I got the black. I am very happy with the shipping and the instrument and definitely DO Recommend !!!

Having bought a higher grade guqin (in one of the images, the higher grade recovered fir qin is on the left and the paulownia qin is on the right) from OrientalMusicSanctuary/The Bamboo Grove from their official website, I had little worry about buying their popular low-cost option on Amazon (I had already queried their customer service email if it was truly them on Amazon) as their customer service was very good and orders over $500 get sent videos of various qin of preferred grade for further personalization. I wasn't really looking for anything specific out this low cost qin, but I am glad about the results. The qin arrived on time and it was a relatively short shipping time because of what I assume that they have stock stored in the US. It came with a bag that had a digital tuner, wall hook, screw for the wall hook, two wall plugs, 7 tassels for the rongkou cords, two anti-slip mats, cleaning cloth, and soft carrying bag. The packaging it came in was a box filled with styrofoam pieces and then the box itself was put into a bigger box. As it is paulownia, it is a bit lighter than qin made of recovered fir which allows for easier of carrying. This is actually perfect for what I'm doing in which I was looking to get another qin that I would bring around with me while I'm away from home for some periods of time. The quality of the instrument is very good and solid, its appearance carries a beautiful yet simple essence, and it still looks good even without the tassels. Setting up and tuning the instrument is quite easy as it can go on your lap or table and I normally go for the standard Zheng Diao tuning (C D F G A c d). Now as for the sound, it is a quiet contemplative instrument that has little chance of bothering the neighbors/sibling next door whilst playing throughout the day (or even through the night). Being made of paulownia, the sound still carries well and demonstration of the three sound techniques (loose, light touch, pressed) yields that it still handles well. Overall, I would recommend this for beginners since it would carry them for a good portion of one's journey on exploring the qin. NOTE: For me, my interest and enthusiasm for the qin also helped curb my nail-biting habit since you may have to grow out your nails on your right hand a little to play. Although it is still possible to play with short nails.

I ordered this beautiful guqin along with a Dizi and waited patiently for their arrival. by the time the expected delivery date had passed I began to worry and contacted the seller and was shocked out how quickly they responded! (almost immediately) The order had some how been lost in transit and they quickly did everything needed to be done to send me a brand new order after confirming it was not placed at my home. My new order arrived MUCH faster than what the original order had said it would take and I am so happy with my purchase. The guqin sounds amazing and I've not yet tried out the Dizi but I know it will also sound amazing! This seller loves music and all other musicians and will MAKE SURE you are 100% satisfied with your order. 10/10 would recommend!

First of all, I'm super impressed with the customer service provided by the sellers. Any time I had a question, they would answer me very fast. My guqin was supposed to arrived between March 2nd and March 28th and it arrived on March 1st. The product was very well packed. It came with a book (in Chinese) a soft guqin bag and tassels to decorate. The guqin is very well build and it is beautiful. It was also super easy to tune and the sound is soft and elegant.

The instrument was well packed and is lovely. My problem is I don't really know how to play it yet, but it just takes some practice. The other issue is I need to figure out how to tune it. I don't know if they can make them with guitar-style tuners, but it might make it easier for us beginners. But please be warned that you may have delays like I did before receiving your order. I think they may have sent a second one because it took so long to arrive. Unlike most of you I had a lot of patience and do not distrust Chinese people just because they are Chinese. Even so, I did worry a little about getting my order. In the end I was rewarded by getting something that was as good or better than I expected. This is an unpaid and uncompensated review.