Budding musicians from Karamay, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, won nine silver and three bronze medals at the inaugural Star of Ocarina National Competition, Aug 12.

Ocarina is ancient type of woodwind instrument that is traditionally made from clay or ceramic. The carrot-shaped instrument is comprised of a mouthpiece and typically between four and twelve finger holes.

The competition began in May with China’s hottest ocarina starlets making their way to Beijing to display their talents. Karamay sent 13 ocarinists to compete among the six different age groups and achieved success, taking seven silver medals in the solo category.

Karamay’s success at the Star of Ocarina can be attributed to educational decisions made by local authorities to introduce ocarina lessons into primary and secondary schools starting from 2013. Many students soon got the buzz of playing such a storied and sweet-sounding instrument and worked hard to develop their proficiency.

Zhou Hao, a music instructor at the Karamay education institute, was pleased with the performance of the students but hoped that the instrument would grow in popularity in the years to come.

“Schools should create opportunities for students to invest more time in developing their musical skills. This kind of traditional music has a long history in China and we need more young people to carry these traditions to the next generation.”

In China the ocarina has historically been known as the xun. The instrument was earthenware and typically took an egg-shaped form. The earliest xun were found in Zhejiang’s Hangzhou Bay and date back six or seven thousand years.