| Kunming makes a big effort to attract tourists,
mostly from other parts of China. In 1999, Kunming hosted the International
Horticultural Exposition, otherwise known as Expo 99. You will be forgiven
if you missed the impact of this event, but it was a big deal here, and
really established Kunming on the tourist map.
Last year, for an encore, Kunming began the International Tourism Festival. As part of the festivities of the Second Annual celebration, the city is hosting a kite festival in one of the big parks at the edge of the city. We went, expecting to see kites flying, but to our surprise, every kite we saw was part of some decorative display and not drifting at the end of a string. |
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The festival was held in Daguan park, but even before you paid your admission, there were kites on display. The trees on either side of the entrance held huge kites like these, which may not have been air worthy, but were spectacular nonetheless |
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Once you entered the park, the skies above the walkways were draped with long strings of kites. Almost everywhere you looked there were kites; many were scattered within the trees and flowers, like Easter eggs. You could even see them stacked up and towering over the small islands set up in the park lakes. |
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Daguan park is a popular spot for recreation, even without the added draw of the kite festival. These men and women are playing "feather ball," a very popular sport in China which we know as badminton. In a charming low-tech Chinese touch, the feathered badminton birdie is made of real feathers, not plastic. |
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In the plazas throughout the park there were freestanding kite displays, which provided photo opportunities to the many visitors. Although you cannot see the details in this picture, the eagles in the base of this display have been given frighteningly realistic talons, and their legs are arrayed as if prepared to strike at some unsuspecting prey. Not exactly the Disney approach. |