Kites in Beijing

After much discussion Flo and I were on the subway going to spend our kid-free afternoon shopping and ordering some tailor made suits for Flo. I was looking forward to not only shopping, but to escaping the unbearable heat. Then Flo got a call, and a friend invited us to go fly kites in the park by our house instead. I could see by the childish sparkle in Flo's eye that this was a battle I should not fight. So, we turned around and headed to the park instead.

      Now, in China flying kites is serious sport. It is mostly done by retired men who spend their afternoons in parks flying kites and socializing. I’m not talking about those wimpy little kites with hardly 10-feet of string. No, these men are serious about their hobby. They have huge wheels of 600-700 meters (1,970-2,300 feet) of heavy duty string. They have bars that rest across their stomachs to help support the pulling of the kite. Their kites fly so high that you can hardly see them any more. At night they’ll even fly kites with lights on the tail and on the string. These are dedicated kite flyer's.

A Professional

This one is just beginning it's ascent.

See how high they get them.

       We on the other had are not professionals. Our friend Stephane has a bit more experience, as he has been living here in Beijing for 3 years. He arrived with his "high-tech" western style kite, and we looked up in the sky to find where the other kite flyer's were so we could join them. After a bit of a walk we finally found them--a jovial group of older men. Stephane and Flo set to work laying out their suppose-to-be-super-kite, as the professionals sat to the side with smirks. 

Unrolling the string, because we had no wheel.

Flo trying to throw the "high-tech" kite into the wind.

Stephane feeling a little shy in front of the professionals

The amused professionals

Giving up!

In the end one of the serious kite flyer's spoke French, and took pity on Flo and Stephane. He had studied in France in the 1950's, and was thrilled to speak a little french with us. I was happy to be able to chat with someone who obviously had much to tell. I go to this park daily with Nico, and so wish every time that I could communicate with the people we meet. Nico and I will definitely go back one day soon to visit the kite flyer's (maybe he'll learn a thing or two from them)!

Flo flying a real man's kite.