Alargeoctopuskiteisflownduringthe38thWeifangInternationalKiteFestivalinWeifangcity,eastChina"sShandongprovince,April17,2021.[Photo/VCG]

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"After-schoolkidscomehomeearly,keentoflykiteswhileEastWind"sspry."ThisChinesepoemfromtheQingDynasty(1644-1911)indicatesthelonghistoryandgreatpopularityofflyingkitesinChina.

Knownasthe"kitecapital"ofChina,WeifangcityineastChina"sShandongprovincehasalonghistoryofmakingkites.GuoHongli,fromWeifang"sHantingvillage,isnowarepresentativeforWeifangkites,whichwereincludedonthefirstnational-levelintangibleculturalheritagelistsbytheStateCouncilin2006.

Atraditionalcraftrefreshedviamobilegames

"WhenIwasakid,Ihadnotoys,soIflewkitesthatImadebymyselftohavefun,"saysGuo,whowasbornintoakite-makingfamily.Hegrewupseeinghisfatherandunclescreatekitesandsellthematfairs.Gradually,helearnedtomakekiteshimself.

"Myfathertoldmethatfashioningkitesisacraftthatneedstenderanddelicateattention,"saysGuo,whois"picky"aboutwhichmaterialsheusesaswellastheassemblyprocess."IalwaysgotosouthChinatobuybamboomyself,andthebamboomusthavegrownformorethanfiveyears."

Onceaworkerinaprintshop,Guoquithisjobtofollowwherehistrueinterestslie-makingkites.Hisworkstakeassortedshapesfromhistoricalandmythologicalfigures,fromanimalstoculturalrelics,andmeasureinlengthsrangingfromtwocentimeterstomorethan100meters.

Asarepresentativeofanationalintangibleculturalheritage,GuoHongli,whilecarryingforwardthefolkhandicraft,alsodelvesintokiteinnovationtoattractmoreyoungpeopletothistraditionalculture.Hebelievesthatintheever-changinginternetera,itisessentialtoactivelyinnovateandintegratewiththeyoungergeneration.

In2021,GuowasinvitedtomakeathemedkiteforTencent"smobilegame,HonorofKings.Heusedanoveltechniquetobuildthestructureandappliedelementsofnine-coloreddeerandflyingapsaras-bothmotifsfeaturedintheDunhuangmuralsandcaves-inhisdesigns,givingthekiteamixtureoftraditionandmodernity.GuoalsointroducedthehistoryandproductionprocessofWeifangkitesviaanonlinelivestream,withviewerspeakingat6.5million.Similarly,backin2019,GuoalsodesignedakiteasapropforthemobilegamePerfectWord.

GuoHonglibelievesthatthetraditionalessenceofmakingkitesmustbeinheritedwhilepursuinginnovations."Effectiveinnovationisimpossiblewithoutagoodtakeontraditionaltechniques,"hesays.

Bringinglocalarttoabiggerstage

GuoHongli(R)drawseyesonadragonkiteforMarie-LouiseColeiroPreca(L),thethenMaltesepresident,inValleta,capitalofMalta,May17,2019.[Photo/Xinhua]

Guohascontinuedtohonehisskillsandwinhonorsthroughouthis30-plusyearsofcareer.Hiswork"CentipedewithaDragonHead"wonthegoldmedalinthefirstChinaIntangibleCulturalHeritageExpoin2010.Hiskiteswerealsoshowcasedintheculturalexhibitionsofthe2008BeijingOlympicGamesandthe2011ShanghaiWorldExpo.Currently,Guoiscreditedwithmorethan10patentsrelatingtokitecreation.

Inadditiontodomesticculturalexchanges,Guohasbeentomorethan30countriesandregionstospreadthewordonChinesekites,bringingthistraditionalcrafttotheworld.Inaddition,theMinistryofCultureandTourism(MCT)haspresentedhisworksasgiftstomorethan170institutionsstationedabroad.

In2018,GuobroughthiskitestoMaltaundertheauspicesoftheMCTforvariousculturalexchanges.Afterward,thethenMaltesepresidentMarie-LouiseColeiroPrecaespeciallylaudedWeifangkitesanddecidedtoorganizeanannualChinesekitefestivalinMaltagoingforward.

Atraditionalindustryeyesnewopportunities

SincethefirstWeifangInternationalKiteFestivalwasheldin1984,thecity"skiteindustryhasflourished.

据潍坊国际风筝协会综合服务中心主任张建伟介绍，目前潍坊有600多家风筝企业。目前，产业链有望提供8万多个就业岗位，相关产业年产值超过20亿元。全市还拥有39家风筝出口企业，产品出口到全球50多个国家和地区，占据了85%的国际市场份额。

近年来，潍坊的风筝产业在中国掀起了电子商务浪潮。很多商家都搬到了线上，有时候线上直播的日交易额甚至可以超过39万元。

Beittechniqueinnovationormarketingtransformation,Guo"soverallgoalistocarryforwardthistraditionalfolkart."KitesarerootedinWeifang.Asaninheritorofthiscraft,IhopetopassitonandpromoteWeifangkitesontheinternationalstage,"Guosays.

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