What are the characteristics of Nantong kites?

The kites in Nantong, Jiangsu Province are exquisite in craftsmanship, beautiful in shape and unique in sound. There are "live harriers" and "plank harriers". The living harrier is lifelike in image and exquisite in structure. There are dozens of traditional forms such as "eagle shuttlecock grinding clouds", "Shuang Yan foraging" and "two dragons playing with pearls". Banyan kite is the most distinctive kite in Nantong. Its basic shape consists of rectangle, square and diamond, with six corners exposed, commonly known as "hexagonal kite". After development, there are seven stars, from nine planets to ninety-six. The smallest is less than three feet, and the largest is as high as one or two feet. The bamboo shed is made of earthenware cloth and painted. A thick straw rope of 20 to 30 feet long is tied to the tail of the kite, and the kite is covered with whistles made of gourd, bamboo tube, ginkgo shell, chestnut shell, pigeon eggshell, peanut shell and other materials. The voice of the gourd is as low as a cello. The eggshell whistle is crisp. Some big harriers can be equipped with twenty or thirty rows of whistles, accounting for more than 200 groups, which are divided into three parts: high, medium and low, forming a relatively complete interval system. Because of its huge size, it takes more than a dozen people Qi Xin to work together to send it to heaven. It sounds like a thousand horses singing together, echoing the sky. For example, a big kite with different sizes of badminton is covered on the back.

Flat harrier