Shropshire Star

In Pictures: Colourful creations fill sky at Chinese kite festival

Weifang residents describe the city as the ‘kite capital of the world’.

Published
China Kite Festival Photo Gallery

More than 1,000 kites have filled the skies above a coastal city in eastern China that touts itself as the “kite capital of the world”.

Locals say there is nothing that cannot sail in the air in Weifang.

China Kite Festival Photo Gallery
(Tatan Syuflana/AP)
China Kite Festival Photo Gallery
(Tatan Syuflana/AP)
China Kite Festival Photo Gallery
(Tatan Syuflana/AP)
China Kite Festival Photo Gallery
(Tatan Syuflana/AP)

Modern craftsmanship means kite-makers are boasting more elaborate, complex and bigger designs.

China Kite Festival Photo Gallery
(Tatan Syuflana/AP)
China Kite Festival Photo Gallery
(Tatan Syuflana/AP)
China Kite Festival Photo Gallery
(Tatan Syuflana/AP)
China Kite Festival Photo Gallery
(Tatan Syuflana/AP)
China Kite Festival Photo Gallery
(Tatan Syuflana/AP)

Thousands of people take part in the festival, and some kites are so big they need more than one person to hold the string.

China Kite Festival Photo Gallery
(Tatan Syuflana/AP)
China Kite Festival Photo Gallery
(Tatan Syuflana/AP)
China Kite Festival Photo Gallery
(Tatan Syuflana/AP)

Kite-makers say the craftsmanship has evolved over hundreds of years, with nylon fabrics becoming more common at the expense of traditional materials such as paper and silk.

China Kite Festival Photo Gallery
(Tatan Syuflana/AP))
China Kite Festival Photo Gallery
(Tatan Syuflana/AP)
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