A Banyao kite featuring ancient Chinese legends [Photo/ntrb.com.cn]

An exquisite kite exhibition opened on Jan 15 at the Nantong Culture and Art Exhibition Center in the coastal city of East China’s Jiangsu province.

A total of 48 Banyao kites featuring ancient Chinese legends were on display, with the largest one extending 3.3 meters in height and 3.4 m in width.

Banyao are traditional whistling kites, a unique category of kites in South China and representative of Nantong culture. Ban means board and yao means snipe.

The process of making the kites includes a variety of traditional techniques, including carving, framing, painting and embroidering.

The kites can be either as large as a ship’s sails or as small as a piece of paper. With hexagon-shaped frames and gourd or wood-made whistles, they sound like a hundred flutes playing melodically as they dance among the clouds.

The exhibition was organized by the Nantong Federation of Literary and Art Circles as one of the many cultural events to welcome the Chinese New Year.

The exhibition will last until Jan 25, and also includes display kites in various shapes like eagles, dragonflies, dragons, phoenix and goldfish.