Musicians with taste

You may think you know your vegetables - the price of pumpkins or what nutrients carrots contain - but did you know they can be played like musical instruments? Meng Baoping, from Mengjia village in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, plays the erhu (a two-stringed bowed instrument) and had the bright idea of harvesting some "environmentally friendly" instruments.

A family band from a Shaanxi province village play their home-made vegetable musical instruments on a TV gala show. Photos by Chen Ye / for China Daily

His son Meng Gang, a percussionist, and other family members all supported the novel idea and as such formed a band that makes sweet music playing just vegetables.

They were so successful that they even appeared on TV gala show, playing their home-made vegetable instruments and performing the Wild Dance of the Golden Snake, a folk music work re-arranged by composer Nie Er (1912-1935).

Before every performance, the band members select fresh vegetables to make their instruments. A flute of Chinese yam takes the most time to make but its melodious sound is quite distinct from the more common bamboo flute.

It's fair to say that vegetables never sounded so good.

Meng Baoping, band leader, knocks together a purple cabbage and an eggplant to make percussive rhythms.