Weifang International Kite Festival

Thousands of kite fanatics descend on Weifang with elaborate kites every year for the International Kite Festival, competing for the title of ‘Kite King.’

An opening ceremony is held in a football stadium to herald the start of the event, which should give you an idea of the enormous scale of proceedings. Kite-flyers from 40 different countries, along with some 10 000 acrobats, dancers and drummers are joined by some of China’s most popular singers to open festivities. Enormous dragon kites, tigers, caterpillars, cartoon characters and more are flown during the festival, filling the sky with extraordinary shapes and colours. Dates for 2012 TBC.