Kite making is a traditional Chinese folk handicraft, originating during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC). In the Tang Dynasty (618-907), flying kites became a household amusement. Kites made in Tianjin are one of the best among many styles.
Tianjin is well known for its kite making and the most famous craftsman in Tianjin was Wei Yuantai, born in 1872 and nicknamed Kite Wei, who made kites for more than 70 years. Kite Wei developed some 200 kites with many new designs, such as flat hard-winged, soft-winged, three-dimensional and foldaway kites, among which foldaway kite is most noticeable. It has a flexible tenon bamboo framework secured with glue instead of thread, and reinforced by a copper ring at every joint. Kites, one to three meters long, can be folded and held in a very small box.
More than fifty kinds of kites made by the Wei family have been exhibited at home and abroad. In 1914, Wei Yuantai kites won a gold medal and a certificate of merit at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. Wei's kites, made of silk, have obvious virtues, such as fine craftsmanship, vivid appearance and good balance. Later generations of Wei inherited and developed these strong points. Wei Yonghang, the third generation of Wei Yuantai, developed more than 50 new designs further on the base of old Wei designs, including kites of butterfly, peafowl, phoenix, and crane, etc.
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