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Flights of kites
Updated: Apr 30, 2024
By Cheng Yuezhu
China Daily Global
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Yang Hongwei, who was born to a family of artisan kite-makers in the village, became a national-level representative inheritor of Weifang kite-making techniques this year.
"Here in Weifang, we have a saying, 'there's nothing you can think of that can't fly'. We have the ideal wind conditions, and so many kite lovers, top-notch artisans and different kinds of handmade kites," she says.
Yangjiabu is small enough to qualify as a village, yet is home to two national-level intangible cultural heritage items — kites and Yangjiabu New Year pictures, a type of traditional woodblock printing used to decorate people's homes during Spring Festival.
Both art forms emerged in Yangjiabu in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and prospered in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
"Our kites' decorations draw inspiration from the New Year pictures, so each one carries its own story and auspicious connotations," Yang Hongwei says.
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