The Kite is a symbol of Chinese hand crafters. Flying a kite is a very popular activity among all generations in China. It is easy to find this scene during the holidays on mainland China.
There are always large numbers of people gathering around the squares and holding lines to control beautiful kites in the sky.
The Chinese kite was originated from the Warring States Period (476 B.C.-221 B.C.). The deft craftsman Lu Ban was said to be the inventor. His invention had the bird' s name of ‘Yuan,’ a kind of bird resembling a hawk family with a long, often forked tail and a long pointed winds. He made the kite out of the thin wooden or bamboo strips.
After the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. -220 A .D.), paper was introduced into the kite-making and replaced the wood and bamboo. Hence, the kite got the name ‘Zhi Yuan,' as ‘Zhi' in Chinese means paper. And during the Five Dynasties Period (907 A .D. -960 A .D.), people tied the bamboo whistle to the kite. When the kite is flying, the airflow can make the whistle sounded like Kucheng playing, hence the name ‘Fengcheng.'
As the civilization advanced, making and playing the kite became very popular in Weifang area, Shandong Province during the Tang and Song Dynasties. Weifang's kite has reached its heyday during the Tang and Song Dynasties.
Every year in spring when the Clear and Bright comes, the weather become warm. All most every household went out to fly the kite and have a picnic in sunny and windy days. It was an exuberant folk activity and a good time to display the kites as well as enjoy the warm weather and the fresh air. The tradition has been well kept until today and becomes the world-famous Weifang International Kite Festival, which is held from 20th to 25th in April every year.
A kite is a flying tethered aircraft that depends upon the tension of a tethering system. The necessary lift that makes the kite wing fly is generated when air (or in some cases water) flows over and under the kite's wing, producing low pressure above the wing and high pressure below it. This deflection also generates horizontal drag along the direction of the wind. The resultant force vector from the lift and drag force components is opposed by the tension of the one or more lines or tethers. The anchor point of the kite line may be static or moving (e.g., the towing of a kite by a running person, boat, or vehicle).
Kites are usually heavier-than-air, but there is a second category of lighter-than-air kite called a helikite which will fly with or without wind. Helikites work on a different stability principle to normal kites as helikites are helium-stabilized as well as wind stabilized. They are a stable combination of a helium balloon and kite-sail to create a single aerodynamically sound kite. When flown in wind a helikite will lift far more than its helium alone and it will fly very well if weighted down to is considerably heavier than air.
In general, kites may be flown for recreation, art or other practical uses. Sport kites can be flown in aerial ballet, sometimes as part of a competition. Power kites are multi-line steerable kites designed to generate large forces which can be used to power activities such as kite surfing, kite landboarding, kite buggying and a new trend snow kiting. Kites towed behind boats can lift passengers which has had useful military applications in the past.
