Wei-style Kites

Last updated 2026-11-09 — Wei-style Kites are kites made by Wei Yuantai, a renowned kite artisan from Tianjin, hence the name “Wei-style Kites.” Born in Tianjin in 1872, Wei Yuantai apprenticed at a decorative arts workshop from a young age, where he developed a strong interest in kite-making. To refine his kite-making skills, he studied the flight patterns of birds and insects as well as the proportional relationships of their body parts, applying these insights to kite design. Traditional kites were mostly rigid-winged, with simple shapes and relatively monotonous colors, and were typically made as single-piece structures. The kites he crafted could be folded and unfolded for easy storage and transport—large kites over a foot long could be folded down to fit inside a small envelope. He developed nearly 200 varieties of kites, including flat-panel, bow-shaped, three-dimensional, stringed, and miniature types. His use of color incorporated ethnic characteristics, as well as techniques such as the gradation method used in traditional Chinese architectural painting and contrasting warm and cool tones, all tailored to enhance high-altitude flying performance. In 1914, he participated in the Panama–Pacific International Exposition with his kites and was awarded a gold medal and certificate. Today, his nephew Wei Shenxing and grandnephew Wei Yongchang have inherited his craft, both working as artisans at the Tianjin Arts and Crafts Factory, where they train many apprentices. Their newly designed kite models enjoy widespread acclaim both in China and abroad. (Tianjin)