Time - USA (2022-06-20)

In April, crowds in Weifang,
Shandong province, looked to
the skies in awe. High above
them, replica spacecraft reen-
acted the breakthrough docking
procedure that had set a mile-
stone in China’s space program.
The spectacle was complete
with a station module and an
astronaut spacewalk, all made
up of a huge, complex structure
of kites soaring on the wind.
The China Space Station kite,
put together by more than 20
craftsmen over two months and
combining traditional techniques
with state-of-the-art digital
modeling technology, attracted
a huge deal of attention on the
internet.
Weifang is widely known as
the world’s kite capital. The city
acknowledges this with kite-
themed landmarks including a
railway station depicting a fl ut-
tering butterfl y, public sculptures
portraying the popular pastime,
and streetlights along the main
thoroughfare leading to the
sprawling venue for an annual
international kite festival.
At Weifang Kaixuan Kite Manu-
facturing Co., workers make kites
ranging from gleaming aircraft

and beautiful landscape paint-

ings to lifelike marine creatures

such as whales and octopuses.

“More than 95% of these kites

are exported and have been

sold in more than 40 countries

and regions, including Denmark,

France and New Zealand,” said

the company chairman, Wang

Xiaoping.

According to local historical

records, Weifang kites were

popular during the Ming Dynasty

(1368-1644) and were a major

folk art in the Qing

Dynasty (1644-1911),

with many artists

becoming widely

known for their

exquisite, high-fl ying

creations.

Weifang kites

took off after the

country’s reform and

opening-up began

in the late 1970s.

In 1984 Weifang

kites were sent

to Shanghai to take part in an

exhibition, impressing offi cials

of an international kite associa-

tion who immediately suggested

that the city set up a global

platform for the art. This led to

the fi rst Weifang International

Kite Festival that same year. Kite

enthusiasts from 11 countries

and regions took part in the

event and were amazed by the

intricacy, vividness and grandeur

of Weifang kites.

The city’s kite industry has

continued to grow, with the

festival being held every year

since 1984. There are now more

than 400 kite companies in the

city, and they employ more than

80,000 people. Each year more

than 220 million kites are made,

with the value of sales totaling

more than 2 billion yuan ($297

million) a year, municipal authori-

ties said.

“Weifang kites account for

more than 75% of the interna-

tional kite market and nearly

85% of the domestic

market,” said Zhang

Jianwei, director of

the comprehensive

service center at the

Weifang Internation-

al Kite Association.

At least 29 kite

export companies

are registered in the

city, with markets on

fi ve continents.

“Weifang’s kites

not only bring

economic benefi ts to the local

people, they also carry traditional

Chinese culture to the world,”

said Wang, chairman of Weifang

Kaixuan Kite Manufacturing Co.

A traditional Weifang kite is

made of bamboo and features

Chinese painting. Traditional

kite-making focuses on the four

arts of tying (using bamboo for

a frame), pasting (placing paper,

silk and other material onto the

frame), painting and “letting go”

(fl ying). In 2006 Weifang kites

were added to China’s intangible

cultural heritage list.

Yang Hongwei, 56, is a leading

inheritor of Weifang’s kite tradi-

tion. Born into a kite-making

family, she often saw up close

the brightly colored kites of

diff erent shapes and sizes in her

grandfather’s workshop. When

she was 16 she learned kite-

making skills from her grand-

father, and after 10 years’ prac-

tice of the craft Yang set up her

own workshop in 1992.

Yang’s creations include

common butterfl y and swallow

patterns, as well as patterns and

images from Chinese mythology,

legends and history.

Weifang’s villagers are also

reaping the rewards of the kite

industry. The city’s Wangjia-

zhuangzi village is known as the

No. 1 kite village in China. More

than 100 companies make kites,

with many villagers involved in

processing kite fabric and the

kites’ hand-held line wheels.

The village reports an annual

output of more than 90 million

kites at a value of 300 million

yuan, accounting for more than

80% of Weifang’s total kite sales.

From design and raw materi-

als to accessories and tying, the

village has formed a relatively

complete industrial chain. There

are 4,700 people in Wangjia-

zhuangzi, nearly 3,000 of whom

are engaged in kite or kite-related

sectors, said Wang Zhenhua, a

Party offi cial of Wangjiazhuangzi.

Additional information is on file with the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.

ADVERTISEMENT

BY ALEXIS HOOI

and ZHAO RUIXUE

KITE CAPITAL SOARS

Yang Hongwei, an intangible

cultural heritage inheritor of

Weifang kite-making.

ZHU ZHENG / XINHUA

Heritage and industry

credentials shine on high