Playing hither and zither

Peng began to study the guzheng when she was 7. After graduating from the Wuhan Conservatory of Music in Central China's Hubei province in June 2017, she went to the Bordeaux Montaigne University in France where she received her master's degree in musicology.

In 2017, her first year in France, Peng was deeply drawn to the romantic and free artistic atmosphere on the streets, enjoying the various performances by artists playing musical instruments like the piano, violin, saxophone and harp.

But she seldom saw Chinese instruments played on the streets. So, in the summer of 2018, she took her guzheng and began to perform in the street. She was surprised to find that very few people in France knew about the Chinese zither, though her teachers and classmates at the conservatory had some knowledge of it.

"I wanted to make this instrument known to more people," Peng says.

She began street performances to sharpen her skills. The more Peng busked on the streets, the greater sense of responsibility she felt to spread Chinese music and culture.

"Many Western instruments are already well-accepted in China, like the piano. But Westerners' understanding of Chinese music can be rather limited," Peng says.