Music of whistling kites in danger of fading

They sound like a hundred flutes, playing melodically as they dance among the clouds. As the Nantong whistle kites drift over the fields, you hear them before you see them. Banyao (ban means board and yao means snipe), the large, flat whistling kites, are large and flat with hexagon-shaped frames that flaunt exquisite decorations with vibrant colors.

Shan Juan is a kite specialist and her family is steeped in the traditions of kite art in Rugao, in Nantong, Jiangsu province.

She relishes every opportunity to explain the history of the folk art that was listed as an intangible cultural heritage by the State Council in 2006.