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It was a sky floated with all sorts of creatures – from octopuses, horses, dragons and cars to little girls and cartoon figures.
The 35th Weifang International Kite Festival opened on Saturday in
east China's Shandong Province, attracting kite fans from around the
world.
People fly kites during a kite fair held in Weifang, east China's Shandong Province, April 21, 2018. /Xinhua Photo, Zhang Chi
People fly kites during a kite fair held in Weifang, east China's Shandong Province, April 21, 2018. /Xinhua Photo, Zhang Chi
Hollander Hans Jansen op de Haar, vice chairman of
the International Kite Federation, is taking his 13th trip to the
Weifang festival. The 68-year-old was introduced to kites by his sister
who once worked in a kite shop. He still designs and sometimes makes
his own kites.
"At the festival I can see different kinds of kites," he said.
Hans Jansen op de Haar first came to Weifang in 2005. "The city has
grown enormously, and there have been a lot of changes."
"The festival has brought big changes to Weifang," said Chen Yulin,
vice president of the city's Folk Literature and Art Association, who
has studied kites for over 20 years.
"Weifang has no famous tourist attractions. The festival has not only
made Weifang better known, especially to foreigners, but also boosted
the development of the city," he said.
People fly kites during a kite fair held in Weifang, east China's Shandong Province, April 21, 2018. /Xinhua Photo, Zhang Chi
People fly kites during a kite fair held in Weifang, east China's Shandong Province, April 21, 2018. /Xinhua Photo, Zhang Chi
Weifang's connection to kites can be seen in many ways. One of the
city's main roads is named Yuanfei, which means "kite flying." Another
important road has red lamps in the shape of butterfly kites.
Shandong has a long history of kite flying. According to Chinese
records, in the Spring and Autumn Period more than 2,000 years ago, a
carpenter named Gongshu Ban invented a wooden kite.
In the following centuries, kite making thrived in China, while the
enthusiasm for kites continued in Weifang. In the 1930s, two kite
festivals were held in the city before the Japanese invasion during WWII
interrupted the event. Seventy-year-old Chen remembers that many
elderly people in Weifang could make kites.
People fly kites during a kite fair held in Weifang, east China's Shandong Province, April 21, 2018. /Xinhua Photo, Zhang Chi
People fly kites during a kite fair held in Weifang, east China's Shandong Province, April 21, 2018. /Xinhua Photo, Zhang Chi
The first Weifang International Kite Festival was held in 1984. Zou
Ligui, former mayor of the city, wrote in an article that the idea came
from David Checkley, then chairperson of the Seattle Kite Association.
According to Zou, Checkley was invited to a kite show in Shanghai in 1983, and afterwards he visited several kite manufacturers.
"He found that kites made in Weifang were the best and suggested that an international event be held there," Zou wrote.
At that time, China has just started its reform and opening-up.
"Hosting an international festival was a requirement of the time,"
said Wang Shuhua, vice mayor of Weifang, adding, "It was a platform
which appealed to both Chinese and foreigners."
The first festival, held six years after the beginning of the reform
and opening-up, attracted kite fans from 11 countries and regions
including the United States, Britain, Japan, the Netherlands, and
Australia. At the fifth festival, Weifang was named "kite capital of the
world." Trade volume during the 10 days stood at one billion yuan, a
significant amount at that time.
People fly kites during a kite fair held in Weifang, east China's Shandong Province, April 21, 2018. /Xinhua Photo, Zhang Chi
People fly kites during a kite fair held in Weifang, east China's Shandong Province, April 21, 2018. /Xinhua Photo, Zhang Chi
As the festival got bigger, Weifang developed as well, establishing
economic and cultural bonds with more than 190 countries and regions.
In 1992, the city's GDP reached 21.6 billion yuan, becoming one of
the earliest cities whose GDP exceeded 20 billion yuan. Last year, the GDP
reached 585.9 billion yuan.
The festival also boosted the development of Weifang's kite-making
industry. Today the city is home to more than 300 kite manufacturers,
with their products sold to more than 40 countries and regions, making
up 85 percent of the domestic market and 65 percent of the world market.
People fly kites during a kite fair held in Weifang, east China's Shandong Province, April 21, 2018. /Xinhua Photo, Zhang Chi
People fly kites during a kite fair held in Weifang, east China's Shandong Province, April 21, 2018. /Xinhua Photo, Zhang Chi
Daro Roeung from Cambodia came to the festival for the first time
this year. His father is a kite maker who had attended the festival
three times and donated one of his kites to the Weifang World Kite
Museum.
"I would like to visit the kite factories here and look into sales
opportunities," he said, adding that he would like to cooperate with
local manufacturers in the future.
People fly kites during a kite fair held in Weifang, east China's Shandong Province, April 21, 2018. /Xinhua Photo, Zhang Chi
People fly kites during a kite fair held in Weifang, east China's Shandong Province, April 21, 2018. /Xinhua Photo, Zhang Chi
During the kite-making industry's growth, however, problems have
occurred.
"There is a lack of craftspeople," said Yang Hongwei, whose grandfather was once one of the best kite makers in Weifang. "Many people who used to work with me have retired and the younger
generation believe the job is difficult and less profitable."
"Only through innovation can we achieve a bright future for
traditional hand-made kites," said Zhang Xiaodong, 69, a master
craftsman who previously worked as carpenter and watch repairman. He not only created kites with moving
fish and frogs, but also used a microphone to make the kites "talk" in
the sky.
After China launched the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft, Zhang created a rocket-shaped kite. "I have a controller and the two parts of the 'rocket' can separate
in the sky just like the real one," he said proudly. His next goal is to
use drones in kite making.
People fly kites during a kite fair held in Weifang, east China's Shandong Province, April 21, 2018. /Xinhua Photo, Zhang Chi
People fly kites during a kite fair held in Weifang, east China's Shandong Province, April 21, 2018. /Xinhua Photo, Zhang Chi
But Yang sticks to use traditional patterns and skills. "Only something classic can last," she said.
Since the 1990s, she has traveled to the United States, Germany, Australia, and South Korea to teach and attend exhibitions.
"As long as there are people who want to learn, I will not stop teaching," she said.
Yang's nephew Xu Yang, 30, is now learning traditional kite-making
from her. Xu's son is just three and sometimes his mother brings him to
the workshop. "I will teach him when he is older," Yang said.
Meanwhile, Chen Yulin is drafting information about Weifang's traditional hand-made kites for school textbooks. "Traditional culture should be passed on to children."
(With input from Xinhua)