Exquisite Nantong-style banyao whistling kites show up at the Chinese-foreign cultural exchange activity, held at the riverbank of the Nantong-Lyusi Canal on April 7. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

Exquisite banyao whistling kites enchanted visitors to a Chinese-foreign cultural exchange activity held on the riverbanks of the Nantong-Lyusi Canal, in Nantong city in East China's Jiangsu province on April 7.

Shi Guhua, president of the kite association in Liuqiao town in the city's Tongzhou district and Master Yu Haitao attended the event.

During the event, they showed off the intricate Nantong-style banyao whistling kites – large, flat, whistling kites with a hexagonal frame adorned with wonderful decorations and vibrant colors – to expats in Nantong from more than 10 countries including the United States, Russia, Japan and Ukraine.

Master Yu, 75, is a professional kite maker in Nantong and an inheritor of the traditional technique of Yutaihe banyao kite-making centered in Liuqiao town. In February 2013, he was honored as a representative inheritor of the Nantong-style banyao kite technique, an official intangible cultural heritage item of the city.

Yu has not only honored and preserved the traditional structure of the kite, but also designed a foldable whistling kite, which is easy to carry when traveling. He has also designed and made a template of the banyao kite, convenient for large-scale production.

His daughter, Yu Hongwei, has inherited her father's skills. Inspired by her dad since childhood, she mastered kite-making and can finish all the tasks – including fabrication, covering the kite frame, decorating, carving, painting and flying – on her own.

She has participated in many competitions and exhibitions, both inside and outside Jiangsu province, with her kites winning high praise and rankings.