Known as the birthplace of kites, Weifang in Shandong province has a long history of making kites. According to local artisans (工匠), the Weifang kite-making can date back to 2,000 years ago. At first, they were often used for measuring distances and communicating. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), kites started to be popular among ordinary people as entertainment (娱乐). In 2006, the Weifang kite-making was included in the national-level intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) lists.

Yang Hongwei, 56, was born into a kite-making family. Yang often saw kites with bright colors and different shapes in her grandfather’s workshop. “Every time I see these beautiful kites, my sadness and down feelings go away,” said Yang. Yang started to learn the skill from her grandfather at the age of 16. After practicing the skill for 10 years, she started her own shop in 1992.

On Yang’s kites, people can see not only common styles like butterflies and swallows, but also some prints telling Chinese traditional stories, legends and history. For example, she once made a kite showing a phoenix head (凤头) lined with paintings of 50 famous women in Chinese history on each side. Though the idea was cool, the process was not easy. Yang said that each woman had different characters in appearance, clothing and the makeup style. To create their images, she spent much effort and time checking historical records or discussing the details with experts.

In her spare time, she also travels to different countries including Germany, Australia, the US and New Zealand to tell people about Chinese stories seen on kites and the traditional ways of making kites. “I’m an inheritor of the culture. It’s also one of my important jobs to spread the heritage around the world and onto the next generation (一代人).” she said.

Nowadays many people look for fun online. Watching livestreaming shows has become part of their lives. At the same time, traditional culture has found a bigger stage (舞台) online. Many traditional artists are starting to livestream like Douyin and Bilibili. Some of them sing Peking Opera, some make paper cutting, while others perform Chinese classical music. A growing number of young people are starting to become more interested in traditional culture because of livestreaming.

Li Jun is a Peking Opera performer from the Shanghai Jingju Theater Company. The 59-year-old took up his smart phone and started livestreaming. Unlike performing on a real stage, Li uses common places as his stage, including his office and study room. Besides singing, Li also teaches viewers (观众) something about Peking Opera . People can ask him questions and get answers directly .

“Livestreaming has brought this traditional art down to earth.” One viewer said, “it gives young people an easier way to learn more about the traditional art.” Li has more than 6,000 fans on Douyin, while one of his videos got 42,000 views on Bilibili.

On March 26th, 2020, Bilibili livestreamed a huafu show on the third China Huafu Day Performers showed clothes in traditional Chinese styles, including those from Wei, Tang and Ming dynasties. During the show, viewers not only enjoyed looking at the clothes, but also watched how performers used ancient styles of make-up.

As Guangming Daily said, livestreaming has come to a new stage through which traditional culture can be kept alive.

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【推荐3】Tea is popular around the world. It comes from China. So it should be no doubt that the use of teapot is from China as well. However, it is strange that the invention of teapot came at least 500 years after tea was first made to drink.

During the early days of tea drinking, tea leaves were put directly into a cup of hot water. The first teapot wasn’t created until the Ming Dynasty. The first teapot came from China. Since the Song Dynasty, a kind of purple clay called zisha has been found around the lake Taihu and it was used to make teapots. The purple clay can fill in the taste of tea. If a teapot is used long enough, it will store enough of the tea’s taste.

Yixing teapots were the prototype of teapots. They were made by hand and in some traditional ways. Yixing teapots are still used today in China and their constructions has changed little over the centuries. Chinese teapots have stayed nearly the same over the centuries from their first introduction to the west in the late 1600s. However, western teapots have changed a lot at the European market.

【推荐1】Do you know extreme (极限的) sports? Extreme sports are often dangerous. But many people like them. A lot of people want to do them, even women. Do you know why? One said, “Because they can make me look very cool.” Do you think so?

Read about them below. Then you can know a lot about them.

【推荐2】You’re going to a foreigner’s party. You must be excited about it. Wait a minute! Do you know what kind of gift you can send to your foreign friend? Here are some tips.

● In some western countries, some gifts like kites, chopsticks, or an erhu may be people’s favorites.

● Use beautiful paper to wrap the gifts. Remember not to use white, black or brown paper.

● For Japanese, gifts like tea or pens are nice. They don’t like big gifts.

● For Frenchmen, gifts like candy, perfume (香水), wine or books are perfect.

● British people and Americans like flowers, wine and chocolate, and you can relax and take it easy at their parties.

● In Arab countries, it’s not polite to send a gift to someone when you meet him or her for the first time. Isn’t that interesting? You can give a gift when you meet a second time.

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