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. Tianjin is well known for its kite making and the most famous craftsman in Tianjin was Wei Yuantai, who made kites for more than 70 years.
Kite Wei developed many new designs, such as flat hard-winged, soft-winged, three-dimensional and foldaway kites, 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. 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.
