The Erhu

Name: Erhu also known as Nanhu

The sound: With a range of about three octaves, it's sound is rather like a violin, but with a thinner tone due to the smaller resonating chamber.

About the Erhu: has a small body and a long neck. There are two strings, with the bow inserted between them. Resonator is covered with a piece of stretched snakeskin (python), which results in a unique "whining" tone color of the instrument. The bow for the erhu is placed between its two strings. Traditionally the two strings are made of silk, although metallic strings are used as well. The sound body of the erhu is a drum-like little case usually made of ebony or sandalwood and snakeskins. It usually has a hexagonal shape with the length of approximately 13 cm. The front opening is covered with skin of python (snake) and that of the back is left open. The functions of this case of resonance are to amplify the vibrations of the strings. The neck of the erhu is about 81 cm long and is manufactured with the same materials as the drum. The top of the stem is bent for decoration. The two tuning handles (pegs) are found close to the end of the stem. There is no frets (as contrast to the lute) or touching board (as contrast to violin). The player creates different pitches by touching the strings at various positions along the neck of the instrument. The bow is 76 cm long and is manufactured of reed which one curves during cooking, and arched with horsehair in the same way as the bow of violin. However, in the case of erhu, the horsehair runs between the two strings. In another word, one cannot take off the bow from the instrument unless one of the two strings is taken off or broken. 

History: Over 500 years.The Erhu first appears about 1104 AD during the Song Dynasty.

The Suona

The sound it makes: Loud blasts and nothern flavour.
Pitch range: A single soprano Suona is not usually capable of playing pieces with complex key changes.
History: Believed to have been developed from Central Asia. It was originally introduced into China from central or south asia.A musician playing an instrument very similar to a suona is shown on a drawing on a Silk Road religious monument in western Xinjiang province dated to the 3rd to 5th centuries, and depictions dating to this period found in Shandong and other regions of northern China depict it being played in military processions, sometimes on horseback. It was not mentioned in Chinese literature until the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), but by this time the suona was already established in northern China.

Extra information: The suona is a woodwind made of Bamboo it is also an oboes.