Anci is a district of southern Langfang with a time-honored history. The Great Victory of Langfang, which is one of the important features on the anti-imperialism and patriotism of the Yihetuan Movement or the Boxer Rebellion happened in Anci District. Dishili kite, a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage, was also originated in Anci District.

According to local people, Dishili kite was invented by an artist called Liu Hui in the Guangxu’s reign in the Qing Dynasty. In 1986, the third generation of Dishili kite Liu Ping and Zhao Zongxin learned from Wei Yongchang and Wei Guoqiu, the third generation of Tianjin kite of Wei’s faction, and Ha Yiqi, the inheritor of Beijing kite of Ha’s faction to improve the techniques of Dishili kite.

Dishili kites are mostly softly winged, structured by hard and solid materials and made of soft materials such as cloth or satin. Dishili kites cover a wide range of hundreds of innovative types including eagle, butterfly, swallow, red-crowned crane, phoenix and dragonfly under the relentless efforts making by Liu Ping and Zhao Zongxin. The exquisitely crafted Dishili kites have taken off during theses years in Langfang. Dishili Town had made great efforts to extend its kite industry chain and kites in Dishili are widely used for entertainment, advertising, technological research and publicity. Now Kites has become a characteristic cultural card and an important regional industry in Langfang which covers tens of thousands of workers and annua production amounting to thirty million. Dishili Town has been China’s second largest producer of kites that are widely exported to Japan, French, America, Canada, South Korea and other countries.

Translator: ZHANG Ruochen