The Byron Berline Band got to experience China, and the Chinese got to experience bluegrass and Western swing music. What an experience it was! John Hickman (banjo), Steve Short (drums), Richard Sharp (bass), Barry Patton (bones), Mitch Corbin(guitar) and I (fiddle and mandolin) toured the country for 12 days in early April.

I had been to China in 1983 with my wife, Bette, and our daughter, Becca, as a member of the Oklahoma Friendship Force. In many ways China has changed dramatically since then. There's a lot more industrial growth, they seem more westernized, there are MANY more cars, and more modern buildings in the big cities. Wherever we looked we saw major construction and large buildings going up all around.

After seeing us perform at a Violin Society of America meeting in Cincinnati, the band was invited to tour by Jing Q. Song. Mr. Song liked our music and thought his countrymen and women might also. We arrived in Beijing April 4th, and were immediately transported to a local university. The first thing we did was a press conference and demonstration of our music for some students there. It was really fun watching the students' faces as we talked about and played our music. They were so enthralled and enthusiastic. It was a great beginning for us.

We were able to sight-see quite a lot, including the Great Wall, Tienemen Square, the Forbidden City, Ming's Tomb, the Summer Palace, and the many markets where shopping was fun, especially if you like to bargain. And what musician doesn't? The food was really very good --- we were treated to some fine restaurants with very tasty dishes. Don't know what it all was --- didn't ask!

The venues we played were 1500 seat theaters in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Ningbo. We believe this was the first time any bluegrass had been played in China, and the response was quite good. Our audiences were fairly reserved at first, but warmed up in the second half of the show. The only American artist to perform in China anything resembling bluegrass was John Denver. All the Chinese remembered "Take Me Home Country Roads" so we did that for them and they would sing along. Mr. Song taught us a Chinese folk song which we would perform with him on violin. Everyone seemed to enjoy that. Another highlight was when Barry played the chop sticks (drum style) on my fiddle strings; that was the best use we made of them!

A major highlight for the band was the tour of the Eastman String Company's factory in Beijing. We observed the entire procedure of making violins, mandolins, basses and guitars. Their instruments are entirely hand made - no machinery is involved at any stage --- by skilled workers and the end results are top quality. We were all impressed with the tour and the hospitality we received by the staff at Eastman. Thank you very much. We sent them some of our photos which you might be able to see on their website: www.eastmanstrings.com

We felt the instrument factory tour and the workshop demonstration with the university students were the main highlights for us, even though the entire trip was memorable. John, Barry, Mitch, Steve, Richard and I thank Mr. Song for making it possible. Perhaps some day there will be a Chinese bluegrass band appearing at our Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival.