Folklore Flying High in Weifang.docVIP

Folklore Flying High in Weifang 　　WEIFANG InternationalKite Festival is from oneangle a renowned folkloricactivity in China, and fromanother, a grand Internatlonal eventin kite folklore. Beginning in 1984, theevent has been conducted annually everyApril in Weifang, Shandong Province onChina’s east coast. This year is the 28thsession of this pageant. 　　More tban any other place Weifangreminds us of kite folklore traditions.The city has a long history of kite making, and is widely admired for its sophisticated workmanship of all the processesinvolved: framing the bamboo skeleton,pasting it with paper to flesh out a beautiful form, and painting the plain kite inbeautiful colors to give it an animatedimage when the thing flies. All these aredone with a know-how to make the kiteeasy to fly. In the 1950s, Weifang kiteswere sold on overseas markets, celebrated for flying high in the skies of over 20foreign countries and regions. On April 1,1988 the Presidium of the Fifth WeifangInternational Kite Festival voted Weifang into the Kite City of the World,and decided to collect the 10 championkites selected from around the world andhouse them in the Weifang Kite Museumas permanent souvenirs. 　　During the annual international kitefestival, Weifang hosts a variety of activities for participants to explore other aspects of local folklore and culture besideskite making and flying competitions andcraftsmanship exchange. Weifang hashealthy highway and railway arteriesand airline connection, so while it attracts abundant kite producers and flyingenthusiasts, the event also draws regular tourists to do other things besidesindulge their curiosity in the myriad oflittle creatures flying in the colorful sky. 　　 　　The History of Kites 　　 　　The secrets of the true origin of kitesand kite flying have been buried by time.Folklore has it that the tradition of kiteflying is founded in remembrance of thedead. According to mythology, on Qingming Festival (around April 5, the traditiona