The 15th Beijing International Kite Festival will take place on April 11 and 12 at the Beijing Garden Expo Park. Photo: Beijing Sports Federation

A total of 22 kite teams from China and abroad will take part in the 15th Beijing International Kite Festival, set to kick off on April 11 at the Beijing Garden Expo Park, the Beijing Sports Federation (BSF), one of the event's organizers told the Global Times on Tuesday.
 
There will be 11 participants from the island of Taiwan. Foreign participants come from countries such as Russia, Tunisia, France, Belgium, Vietnam and the US. The domestic teams will participate across eight major competition categories, including medium-sized dragon kites and hard-winged string kites, while overseas participants will showcase their creativity and skills in exhibition events, Liu Shujing, an official with BSF, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

The annual festival, which runs till April 12, is not only a platform for preserving and showcasing traditional Chinese kite culture, but also an important bridge for cultural exchange in folk sports between China and other countries. It will also serve as a key initiative to enrich public fitness scenarios and foster new drivers of sports consumption, according to BSF.
 
The appeal of the festival lies in its unique integration of an "aerial art spectacle," the preservation of intangible cultural heritage, and international folk exchange, Zuo Liubiao, secretary general of Beijing Kite Association, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Kite-making has long been a traditional Chinese folk handicraft in North China. Tianjin Kite Wei was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2008. In 2006, Weifang kite-making from East China's Shandong Province was inscribed on the national intangible cultural heritage list.

The competition events mainly evaluate kite-making craftsmanship, including the frame structure and painting, as well as the angle between the kite line and the ground (the closer the angle is to 90 degrees, the higher the score) and the duration the kite remains airborne, said Zuo, who is also a national-level kite judge.

In the exhibition events, international participants will showcase soft, three-dimensional kites, while team-based sport kites will form various patterns in the sky, creating a visually stunning aerial spectacle, Zuo noted. 

The on-site wind speed must not exceed Level 7. Last year, the competition was canceled due to excessively strong winds, Zuo added. 

In addition to the professional competitions, the festival will feature interactive activities such as kite-making and flying experiences, a kite contest for primary and secondary school students in Beijing, and family-friendly flying workshops, Liu noted. 

On-site, intangible heritage artisans will demonstrate the full range of traditional kite-making techniques, namely assembling, pasting, painting, and flying, Zuo added. 

Visitors and families are welcome to learn to make kites by hand and enjoy the fun of flying them, experiencing both the charm of traditional folk customs and the joy of family bonding in the springtime, said the organizer. 

Meanwhile, to bring kite culture into daily life, a kite festival market will open, bringing together a wide range of offerings including kite sales, handicrafts, specialty snacks, and sports-themed cultural and creative products to create an immersive springtime consumption experience, BSF reported. 
 
Activities such as the "wind chasers" market, giant kite photo spots, and DIY kite workshops will further integrate kite culture with commercial spaces, allowing visitors to encounter the beauty of spring in the capital.