Gehu
The gehu is a Chinese instrument developed in the 20th century by the Chinese musician Yang Yusen. It is a fusion of the Chinese huqin family and the cello. Its four strings are also tuned C-G-D-A, exactly like the cello's. Unlike most other musical instruments in the huqin family, the bridge does not contact the snakeskin, which faces to the side.
There is also a contrabass gehu that functions as a Chinese double bass, known as the diyingehu, digehu, or beigehu.
By the late 20th century the gehu had become a rare instrument, even within China, as the tendency for the snakeskin to lose its tightness increases with humidity. Today, it is used mostly in Hong Kong and Taiwan, although even there, the cello is beginning to become a popular replacement for it. There are also other Chinese instruments that are able to take on the role of bowed bass range instrument, such as the laruan, the lapa, and the bass matouqin.Video
