Sirojiddin Juraev will join Wu Man in her upcoming China tour. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Two years later, she performed with the US string quartet, the Kronos Quartet. The group's founding violinist, David Harrington, says he"heard all sorts of possibilities in Wu Man's vivid pipa sound".

In 1995, they again partnered to perform Chinese composer Tan Dun's Ghost Opera at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

"To a Western ear, the pipa may sound exotic. People will praise my technique, touch the strings and ask a few questions. But I want more. I want them to feel inspired and influenced, and to return to learn more," says Wu.

"Its presentations are admired for high tones and dazzling technical capacity. But those are only small parts of its totality."

Wu considers education an important mission and works as a professor at conservatories in Beijing, Shanghai and Zhejiang province.

"I left China to discover new dimensions of the pipa and introduce it to the West. Now, I want to realize that vision in China."

Contact the writer at chennan@chinadaily.com.cn