Basic skills

In traditional Chinese kite flying contests, it is essential that competitors make their own kites, for visual appeal is part of the scoring criteria, which means that the basic skills of kite making are also required by flyers.

"Kite flying is an activity that combines sport, art and culture, which is what makes it so appealing to me. It is rare for me to find an activity with so many elements that are attractive to me. From making the kite, the whole process enriches me and gives me a sense of achievement. I think it nurtures all-around personal growth," Huang says.

All members of the Beijing Kite Association and also Chinese Kite Association, Gao, Zhao and Huang are frequent contestants at international kite festivals and championships, winning awards with their solo or kite ballet performances. Even so, before each competition, they would tirelessly practice the choreography.

"It's hard to find an ideal time with perfect wind conditions," Gao says. "Sometimes, when there's no wind and I'm anxious to practice coordination, I memorize the movements by heart and imagine myself as the kite, my own movements imitating how the kite should move to the music's rhythm."

As this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and France, as well as the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism, China was the first-ever guest country of honor at the 37th International Kite Festival in Berck-sur-Mer, France, between April 20 and Sunday, with events organized by the China Cultural Center in Paris and kite-makers from Weifang in Shandong province.

Chinese-inflected cultural activities took place at the festival, including a gigantic dragon-headed centipede kite-flying performance at the opening ceremony, workshops for kite-making techniques by artisans from Weifang, as well as performances and experiential activities such as lion dances, martial arts, performances of traditional Chinese instruments and tea ceremonies.

Liu Hongge, director of the China Cultural Center in Paris, says that the kite is a key image representing the friendship between China and France. In 1958, the two countries produced a film titled Fengzheng (The Kite), which was called Cerf-volant du Bout du Monde in French.

The first color children's film made by the People's Republic of China, and the first coproduced with another country, it tells of the adventures and friendship between Chinese and French children created by a kite.

"As the organizer of guest country activities, the China Cultural Center in Paris continues to leverage the image of kites, using them as a medium to tell stories about kite culture in China and France, foster mutual understanding between peoples, and contribute to the success of the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism," Liu says.