Kite Flying Around the World环游世界的风筝

Kite flying started in China more than 2，000years ago. There is one Chinese legend1 that a farmer’s hatflew off his head， but followed him in the air attached2 to a thread3 from hisclothing. Maybe that is the first inspiration4 for kites？ It is also said that General5Han Xin flew a kite to measure6 the wall of a city. Kite flying then was taken toother countries from China.

Nowadays， kite flying festivals are held around the world. In Asia， there are often“kite fights”， where people try to cut others’kites down like in Afghanistan andPakistan. In Indonesia， India， Vietnam， and China kite flying is both sport andrecreation7. In other countries， kite flying is children’s play like during the New Yearholidays and the Boys’Festival in May in Japan， or in Brazil or Colombia for fun.

Here are some famous festivals of kite-flying around the world.

Festival of the Winds is the Australia’s largest kite-flying festival.The Festival of the Winds is held in every September in Sydney， atBondi Beach.

Portsmouth （UK） International Kite Festival hasthousands of beautiful and colorful kites. The art of kiteflying and kite making shows the tradition of kitesaround the world， with many kites in the sky and on theground for visitors to enjoy.

With 20，000 visitors and hundreds of differentkites， the Cape Town International Kite Festival is thelargest kite festival in Africa.

Weifang， Shandong， China is known as the kitecapital8 of the world， and people think it is thebirthplace of kites. While in Weifang， you can visit thelargest kite museum in the world and a kite factory.

放风筝始于2000 多年前的中国。有一个中国传说，讲的是一个农民的帽子从他的头上飞了下来，但被他衣服上的一根线系着飘到了空中。也许这是发明风筝的第一个灵感？也有人说，韩信将军放风筝测量一座城的城墙。后来放风筝从中国传到了其他国家。

如今，放风筝节在世界各地举行。在亚洲，经常有“斗风筝”活动，人们试图把别人的风筝剪下来，例如在阿富汗和巴基斯坦。在印度尼西亚、印度、越南和中国，放风筝既是一项运动又是一项娱乐活动。在其他国家，放风筝是类似在新年假期和日本的五月男孩节中的儿童游戏，或者在巴西或哥伦比亚作为消遣活动。

以下是世界各地一些著名的放风筝的节日。

风之节是澳大利亚最大的风筝节。风之节于每年九月在悉尼的邦迪海滩举行。

朴茨茅斯（英国）国际风筝节有数以千计瑰丽多彩的风筝。放风筝和制作风筝的技巧展示了世界各地风筝的传统，天空和地面上有许多风筝供游客欣赏。

开普敦国际风筝节有20，000 名游客和数百种不同的风筝，是非洲最大的风筝节。

中国山东潍坊被称为世界风筝之都，人们认为它是风筝的发源地。在潍坊，你可以参观世界上最大的风筝博物馆和一家风筝工厂。

（英语原文选自：kidworldcitizen.org）