For the best sound quality and visual appearance, it is made of red sandalwood (紫檀木), because red sandalwood is best known for its beautiful wood grain, unique purplish color, hardness and rareness.

Three common decorative patterns are ruyi (如意, good fortune), peony and dragon.

Under the lute head is a pegbox (弦軸箱) with tuning pegs (琴栓) that hold the strings.

There are some makers that still use the traditional peg box system but coupled with fine tuners at the tailpiece.

The frets are usually made of plastic, buffalo bone, wood and metal (copper).

Some common shapes for the sound holds are circle, moon, S, and bird.

At the lower part of the body, a bridge (琴碼) is placed to support the strings and transmit vibration.

This allows for a greater control over timbre and intonation than their western counterparts, but makes chordal playing more difficult.