Nanjing citizen fulfills piano-making dream (8)

（Xinhua） 20:58, May 28, 2013

Photo taken on May 8, 2013 shows Zhang Gangning (R), a piano maker, communicates with his visiting friend at his house in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)

Zhang's interest in piano-making started 13 years ago. After shooting pictures for Richard Clayderman's concert in 2000, he invested one million RMB (about 163,100 U.S. dollars) he earned through his photo business into piano making. Eight months after Zhang started, he finally successfully made his first piano -- an upright piano whose timbre was not that satisfactory. Zhang invested more into his piano-making dream, even including his own house, all because he wanted to make a grand piano that can compete with the world's top pianos. In October 2006, Zhang brought his first grand piano to Music China international instrument exhibition in east China's Shanghai Municipality. There Zhang's piano caught the eye of Paul Davis, a British pianist, who held a special concert using Zhang's piano later. In January 2012, Zhang went to the 110th National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Show in Los Angeles, the United States.Currently Zhang is working on the fourth generation of his grand piano.