Getting & Taking Care of a Good Xun

How to pick a good Xun?

1. Choose wisely - a good quality Xun is preferred to have:
   
   Fig. 1 Comparison of a Good Xun and a Bad Xun

   1. Slanted breath hole helps control the air flow to create a solid tone
   2. Thicker, body wall for rounder, fuller sound
   you can see the thickness of the wall from the finger holes
   3. Key identifying stamp is a sign of the instrument has a set of organized tones
   (other words, it can at least play a set of diatonic scale)
   

   4. Rounded finger holes for comfortable playing 

   (also an indication of fine tuning of the instrument)
   
   
2. Purchase from reputable manufacturer - if you can't actually go to a store to look at the Xun in person, research on forums and find a reputable manufacturer to get the Xun from, they are "REPUTABLE" for a reason!! (I'm not going to publicly advertise for the manufacturer I got mine from, but message me in private and I'll send you their way if you want to get one for yourself.)

How to take good care of your Xun?

Day-to-day maintenance:

The manufacturer recommend musician to wipe down the Xun with dry, soft cotton cloth before and after each performance. The wiping before each performance can warm up the Xun so that it can create a rounder, fuller sound; wiping it down after a performance can get rid of the condensation on the Xun so it would not get mould (not THAT important when you're in dry places such as Canada, but better safe than sorry, eh?!). 

Cleaning (whenever needed):

To clean the outside of the Xun, it is recommended to use a damp cloth to wipe it once, followed by wiping it with a piece of dry cloth. To clean the inside of the Xun, it is best to just use compressed air to get any dust out of it, . When not in use, store the Xun in the bag provided by the manufacturer to keep dust from collecting inside of the Xun. 

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So I combined the two maintenance advice I got from the manufacturer, I decided that before I put the Xun back into the bag it came with, I wrap it up with a cotton face-towel, that way the Xun gets extra protection and I have a handy little wiping cloth!!

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Updated March 3rd: I've asked the manufacturer, you can also warm up the Xun by putting it in front of a space heater, or wrap it with an electric heating blanket. They also told me it is only necessary to warm up the Xun before playing when it's cold, though I would still prefer to warm it up for a bit as it is easier to get a decent tone out of the Xun when it's nice and warm.