After a long, cold and dry winter, life and color are starting to return. Flowers are everywhere, birds are singing and people are flying kites.Known as the birthplace of kites, Weifang in Shandong province has a long history of making kites.
It is believed that Weifang kite-making can be traced back(回溯)to 2, 000 years ago. At first, they were often used by the army for communication purposes. During the Ming Dynasty(1368—1644), kites started to be popular. Made from bamboo and covered with traditional Chinese paintings, Weifang kite-making was in the intangible cultural heritage(非物质文化遗产) lists in 2006. The International Kite Festival has been held in Wei fang every year since 1984.
Yang Hong wei, 56, is an inheritor(传承人)of the Wei fang kite-making. Born in a kite-making family, Yang often saw kites with bright colors and different shapes in her grandfather's workshop. "Many places around the world have a tradition of flying kites," Yang said. " But I think behind our kites is the beauty of our nature and culture."
On Yang's kites, people can see not only common things like flowers and birds, but also some patterns(图案)telling about Chinese fairy tales and history. "It takes lots of time,"Yang added,"but when I explain the thing on the kites to foreign customers, I feel a sense of great achievement."
In her spare time, she also travels to different countries including Germany, Australia, the US and New Zealand to tell people about Chinese stories seen on kites and the traditional ways of making kites. "I'm an inheritor of the culture. It is an important job of mine to spread the heritage around the world and onto the next generation(一代人)."she said.