Chinese craftsmen strive to revive century-old kite-making art

In addition to racing dragon boats and making zongzi, a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves, flying kites is a tradition during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday in north China's Tianjin Municipality.

Kite-making is a traditional Chinese folk handicraft. One of the most famous kite-making handicrafts in China is called Kite Wei, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2008.

Wei Guoqiu, in his 60s, a fourth generation Kite Wei craftsman, was focused on making a kite at his workshop, where dozens of peacock, eagle, fairy, and cowboy-shaped kites were hanging on the walls.

Back in 1892, Wei Yuantai, who showed an extraordinary talent for kite making at a young age, set up a workshop named Kite Wei. Currently, this unique kite-making handicraft has inspired five generations of inheritors.

"When I was young, when I saw kites in the sky, I would quickly run home and pick up a kite to compete with other children, seeing who could fly kites higher," said Wei Guoqiu, who made his first kite at the age of eight.

For decades, he devoted himself to making kites. "Once I chose it as my life-long career, I was determined to do it for the rest of my life, regardless of loneliness and painstaking work."

Different from other kite-making techniques, Kite Wei has a unique frame-making method, akin to the tenon and mortise structure. With no threads, nails and other attachments to fix the kite frame, the kite is lightweight and yet also sturdy.

To become competent, craftsmen need to practice the necessary skills for a long time, leaving many with calluses on their hands.

Wei Bowen, son of Wei Guoqiu, began to inherit the art of kite-making after graduating from college. At the beginning of his apprenticeship, Wei Bowen would spend many hours practicing brushstrokes, drawing five or six paintings successively every day.

The 29-year-old man said while he was naturally very active most of the time, he could sit still for about eight hours when making a kite.

To keep up with the times, the father and the son strive to revive the century-old kite-making art by going to art galleries and exhibition halls across the country, as well as communicating with kite enthusiasts, in search of inspiration.

They designed a type of mini kite, with a minimum length of a few centimeters, for office workers to fly indoors.

"Flying kites outside is good for people's health, but we also hope people can do some stretching exercises indoors by flying a mini kite," said Wei Guoqiu. The mini kites proved popular with many people.

In addition, Wei Bowen cooperated with some well-known intellectual property and games companies to customize kite patterns. Kites containing pictures of famous animation or games characters, like Iron Man, were preferred by many young customers.

Wei Bowen said that many young people knew Kite Wei and were curious about the kite-making art thanks to novel designs, which provided a new channel for inheriting and promoting this intangible cultural heritage.

The father and son also go to schools to teach students about making kites, thereby inspiring more children to value, protect and inherit the art.

"When I taught a kite-making class in China's Xi'an city a few months ago, some children did not want me to go home and insisted on flying kites with me for a while longer," Wei Bowen recalled. These children's passion and love for kites have given him great motivation.

In recent years, Kite Wei has also made an impact abroad. The father and son have been invited to participate in exhibitions in the United States, Britain and Malaysia to show their handmade kites, which were always sold out quickly. Meanwhile, some foreign fans made special trips to Tianjin, seeking artistic exchanges and cultural cooperation with Kite Wei.

The development of Kite Wei is an epitome of China's protection and promotion of intangible cultural heritage.

According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, China now has 43 items on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list, making it the most listed country globally.

Ma Qingyu, a staffer of the Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, said that protecting, inheriting and utilizing intangible cultural heritage well is not only conducive to the continuation of historical context and consolidation of cultural self-confidence, but also to better meeting the spiritual and cultural needs of the people.

"Kites are not only our family heirloom, but also a part of China's intangible cultural heritage," said Wei Bowen. He said that he and his father will continue to promote traditional techniques and make the kite culture fly higher and further.