The Shanghai Jiangzhou Drum Troupe is a famous traditional percussion ensemble, committed to the development of the traditional Chinese drum art. Established in 1988, its objective is to promote and to develop traditional Chinese arts and to establish ethnic drum performances for the contemporary stage.

Percussion instruments are the oldest instruments to be discovered on Chinese territory. The earliest archaeological evidence of Chinese percussion music was discovered in Shanxi Province. Jiangzhou is the birthplace of gong and drum music in China. Its history of drum performance stretches back thousands of years, and the people of Shanxi province grow up with the steady beat of indigenous folk music.

The drummers of the ensemble come from smaller villages in remote mountain areas where the drum skills have been passed down from father to son over generations and where drumming forms an essential part of daily live. With its 100 performers, the Shanghai Jiangzhou Drum Troupe is nowadays the world largest traditional drum ensemble. Its efforts to popularize the ancient beats of Jiangzhou have resulted in being declared by UNESCO as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2002.

During the last decade, the ensemble has given more than 7000 performances in China and abroad. Among the countries the troupe has visited are Japan, Korea, France, Switzerland, Canada, the U.S.A., Indonesia, New Zealand, Spain, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and many others.