The sanhu proper (Chinese: ; pinyin: sÃÂnhú) is a Chinese bowed musical instrument with three strings. It was developed in the 1970s and is essentially a three-stringed version of the two-stringed erhu, with an additional bass string.http://www.soomal.com/gb/002/001/00000012.htm http://www.dangongmaosanhu.com/
The Yi people of the Yunnan province of southwest China play a large three-stringed traditional bowed instrument (Yizu sanhu, sanhu of Yi) that is also referred to as the sanhu<sup>photo</sup>https://web.archive.org/web/20070314214025/http://ahrb.com.cn/misc/2005-12/09/content_127324.htmhttp://www.58com.com/web/musicbook/mspr_show.aspx?id=143, which was developed in early Qing Dynasty from Xiqin.