Weifang, where my son lives has one major claim to fame: the International Kite Festival. They love their kites.

You can buy your own set of wings:

I had a serendipitous backwater experience in Weifang last spring…I got to fly a kite with an older Chinese man who did so as a hobby. Even though we could not “understand” each other we somehow understood each other.

Meet Mr. Xu Xue Lian and his butterfly kite:

With your feet on the ground you’re a butterfly in flight, with your fist holding tight to the string of your kite.

Send it soaring up through the atmosphere:

(it is a Chinese city so the air isn’t clear!)

Oh, let’s go…fly a kite!

 I couldn’t believe it when he handed me the controls ! I think he wanted to share with me the exhilarating feeling of controlling the kite so high up in the air. I have never experienced anything like it. And he had a really good time playing with the camera (one more advantage to having an inexpensive easy to use camera!)

I learned his name because a young woman who spoke a little English and worked in a nearby coffee shop was out walking in the park during her lunch hour and stopped to chat.