Weifang Flies Kite Themed China’s Space Station to Welcome Shenzhou-13 Astronauts Back From Space

BEIJING--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The comprehensive service center of Weifang International Kite Festival, based in Weifang city, east China’s Shandong province, flew a kite themed China’s space station to celebrate the return of Shenzhou-13 astronauts to Earth after a six-month stay in space at the Weifang Binhai International Flying Field on the morning of April 17.

The kite, whose main body is the shape of China’s Tiangong space station, is 3.5 meters wide, 8 meters long and 3.5 meters in height, with a total body-tail length of 150 meters. It has gone through many test flights and been improved for many times.

The kite, which took over two months to be completed, was made by over 20 kite craftsmen from a local kite-making company, including Liu Zhijiang, a fourth-generation representative inheritor of Weifang traditional kites, an intangible cultural heritage in China.

By combining traditional kite-making techniques and modern digital technologies, the kite vividly reproduced the docking of China’s Shenzhou manned spacecraft with the Tiangong space station and astronauts’ spacewalk when it was maneuvered for different movements in the sky.

The kite represents Weifang people’s sincere wishes for China’s aerospace development, for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and for humankind’s dream of exploring the space.