In Dongying, Shandong Province, Chinese musician Shi Qichao transforms everyday objects—carrots, frying pans, even bricks—into functional musical instruments, blurring the line between art and daily life. His journey began with a simple observation: a carrot’s resemblance to a flute. “I wondered if I could hollow it out and carve holes to play it,” Shi recalled. The result was a surprisingly melodious “carrot flute,” sparking his passion for crafting instruments from unconventional materials.
His creations—a guitar made from a frying pan, a xun (traditional ocarina) carved from brick, and wind instruments from leafy greens—went viral online. Yet skepticism followed. “Some claimed my instruments weren’t real or were custom-made,” Shi said. To prove otherwise, he once broke a carrot flute in half after playing it, but doubts persisted. “They called it showboating, but I see it as innovation.”
Recently, Shi hosted a surprise-hit livestream concert outside his studio, performing on a “waste-free drum kit,” vegetable flutes, and a pipe organ. The turnout overwhelmed him. “I thought only a couple of people would stay—but they did, and it boosted my confidence.”
Beyond music, Shi promotes sustainability by sourcing vegetables directly from farmers via livestream and crafting instruments from seashells in the Yellow River Delta, merging art with environmental awareness.
