Mar 24, 2026 · 5 min read

Zhang Jian's music collecting journey

Nearly 10,000 pieces — Walkmans, record players, cassettes, vinyl — and the sourcing runs that built the collection.

A collector unpacking a parcel of records at his desk

"Collection World has consistently helped me source and purchase various Walkmans and related products. Their service is professional, their responses are prompt, and our collaboration has been perfectly seamless for many years!" said Dongdong.
ZHANG JIAN

Record players, tape recorders, cassette tapes, and vinyl records—within these music treasures steeped in the spirit of bygone eras are not only timeless melodies, but also the most precious youthful memories of a generation and the musical stories of a city.

“I want to preserve, in physical form, the way we experienced music in those days and our love for it, so that future generations can see it.” — Zhang Jian (CCTV-4, City of Music, Capital of Chinese Music · Wuxi)

Inside the collection room, shelves of tape recorders and record players

In the early 1980s, Wuxi, as one of China's coastal open cities, ushered in a new era of development. At that time, Shanghai's popular music culture spread to the city like ripples on water. In 1983, Zhang Jian's father returned from Japan, bringing back a tape recorder, a television, and a Walkman. These imported items were not only a reflection of Wuxi's embrace of the world, but also the beginning of Zhang Jian's musical journey.

From dubbing cassette tapes to collecting Walkmans, from listening to records to exploring vinyl, Zhang Jian has amassed nearly 10,000 collectibles, and each piece has a unique story behind it. Over the years, Collection World has been honored to continuously provide Zhang Jian with collectible sourcing and purchasing services, acquiring thousands of items in total, and our service quality has been highly recognized.

Some of these stories predate the name Hobbeex; the customers' own words still refer to us as Collection World.