hangzhou craftsman dedicated to kite making-518棋牌

cheng dishen, an arts and crafts master and inheritor of kite-making, makes kites in his studio in hangzhou, zhejiang province. [photo/zjol.com.cn]

on the second floor of the hangzhou arts & crafts museum in zhejiang province is a studio decorated with various styles of hand-made kites.

cheng dishen, 75, is the owner of the studio and has been dedicated to making kites for over 40 years.

in 2014, traditional kite-making was listed as an intangible cultural heritage in hangzhou.

as an inheritor of the traditional skill, cheng has made thousands of kites in all different shapes and sizes over the past four decades. he's made salangane (a kind of bird), goldfish, bats, frogs, cicadas, dragons and tigers, to name a few. he has also won a number of competitions with his special dynamic kites, which have created a stir among the public.

"the traditional kites passed down from our ancestors carry profound cultural significance," cheng said. he then pointed to the salangane kites on the wall, "you see, the painting with fish, rice and silkworms symbolizes the land of fish and rice; and those with cats and butterflies imply wealth and prosperity," he said.

cheng has a special fondness for making dragon kites and spent over a year making a giant 202-metre-long dragon kite to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the people's republic of china, which won the first prize at a traditional hand-made kite-making competition and required 20 people to fly it.

the 202-metre-long dragon kite is hung on the ceiling of cheng's studio at the hangzhou arts & crafts museum in zhejiang province. [photo/zjol.com.cn]