The throngs of visitors to the Taipei County International Kite Festival 2002 are helping revitalize a struggling town.
More than 100,000 spectators, kite masters and amateurs attended the event on Sept. 29 and Sept. 30 in Shihmen Township, Taipei County. Participants hailed from the US, the Netherlands, France, Korea, Japan, Canada and Malaysia.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Showing their skills in performing kite tricks such as single-line flying and sport-kite routines, kiters displayed their best flying style as crowds of spectators cheered on in appreciation of the beautiful works of art they were treated too across the sky.
Kites at the show included giant kites in the shape of animals and insects.
Both dual- and multi-line kites were flown.
In addition to singles competitions, the weekend featured gang fights in which two groups flew three kites each into battle.
Crowds on the beach were entertained with other featured performances such as precision flying and ballet, where groups of more than three operators flew kites in synchronization with music.
Chen Shih-shen (
According to Chen, the Japanese believe that kites came to their country in the 8th century from China.
Clive Hart, a British expert on folk culture, backs up the belief that China is the birthplace of kites.
Hart has examined the spread of kites around the world, and believes kites arrived in Europe via Mongolia and Russia or by the Silk Road and then spread to the Americas, according to Chen's book.
"Through this annual event, we wish to provide a great setting and opportunity for kite-lovers to gather and interact as well as to expose the fun of kite-flying to new comers," Taipei County Commissioner Su Chen-chang (蘇貞昌) was quoted as saying at the opening of the festival.
"It is also our goal that by way of this international festival we can promote cultural interaction across national boundaries and thus Taiwan's visibility in the international community," Su said.
According to the Taipei County Government's Bureau of Cultural Affairs, this year's festival was larger than last year's as it incorporated additional ecological guided tours, kite-making work-shops and promotions of local specialties.
With an aim to revitalize Shihmen Township, a rural fishing village in northern Taiwan facing depopulation due to a lack of economic opportunities, the festival came into existence three years ago. The festival is also part of the county government's efforts to develop kite-flying as an eco-tourism attraction.
The first year of the two-day festival, 2000, attracted masses of visitors. Building on its success, last year's festival also drew high-profile international kite flyers such as Archie Stewart and Scott Hampton from the US.
According to the bureau, kite flying has been chosen to be the featured characteristic of Shihmen Township's beachfront because of the scenic view along the coast and suitable amounts of wind for flying kites.
"With this annual festival, we hope the tourist industry will gradually take shape in this village," Su said.
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