Dragon KitesBig Or Small, They Can Pull A CrowdWhat do the words 'Chinese Dragon Kites' mean to you? It seems that the most well-known variety is the centipede style of kite. This type consists of a large head and a long train of small disks that form the tail. Some of these dragon kites are very big and very expensive, since a lot of labor goes into making them. Most are mid-sized, but still not cheap compared to children's kites. There's a relatively small one over there on the left, with a correspondingly modest price tag. It seems to be the genuine article though, with good craftsmanship and decoration. Modern Western 'Dragon Kites' are rather different, and really fall into the Novelty category. However, a large and detailed one is still a great head-turner! Particularly if it is of the 3D variety. Here's a few examples... Try this Besides the centipede style, you'll see several other Dragon types on this page, which aren't so well known. Like most authentic Chinese kites, most Dragons can be displayed as works of art. Particularly the centipede kites, since they are so intricately made! Centipede Dragon KitesThe large centipede style kite is an amazing thing, whether it is hanging in the foyer of a large building as a piece of art or flying with its tail pointing at the clouds. The tail sections are just a series of smaller flat kites. These are constructed from thin bamboo strips covered with raw silk and then hand painted. Each tail section has a thin bamboo rod running through it, with a feather attached to each end. Did I mention how all the bamboo lengths that make up the framework get created? Apparently, each piece is individually bent into shape over an open flame! Then they have to be fastened together securely. No wonder the whole process takes so long. Plus the fine detail in the painting, done with a small brush, would take some time as well. The craftsmanship in these kites is just mind-boggling. No wonder it can take a team of artists up to 2 months to create one, using traditional techniques and tools. If you ever buy a dragon kite, chances are it will come packed in an embroidered presentation box. See, even the box it comes in is 'arty'! Probably the best known place of manufacture for these kites is Weifang, the home of traditional Chinese kite making. Kites are exported from there to all around the world. A little bit of trivia... Kite teams often fly traditional Chinese centipede kites to mark the Lunar Year of the Dragon! Flying 
What kind of wind does it take to fly these things? Surprisingly, just a soft breeze of 3 kph (2 mph) is enough for some of the best large dragons to stay off the ground! All those light little tail sections all pulling together generate a lot of lifting force. The head is just for looks.However, you might need a decent breeze to get the smallest dragon centipede kites to fly. Are you a kite-geek? Let's talk wing-loading! Painted raw silk weighs the same per unit area whether used in a small or large kite. Plus, aerodynamic performance of any flying thing gets worse on smaller scales. What about when it's really windy? No problem. These kites can be flown in a 40 kph (25 mph) breeze, which causes the tail to rise almost vertically into the air. As you can imagine, in these conditions you need some help with a large centipede kite! The bigger the kite, the more people are needed to keep it under control. You can also tether it to heavy machinery like a truck or something. A flying centipede dragon is an impressive sight, with the long tail snaking skywards, and tail section feathers fluttering in the breeze. Like a live creature, gently moving about on its leash. The smallest dragon kites are pretty easy to get into the air. Just attach the bridle and hold it up for the breeze to catch the tail and take it up. The larger kites, while still easy to launch, take a bit more organization with connecting things up, laying out the tail and so on. Flying a traditional Chinese kite of any sort in wet weather is not a good idea. That's because hand-painted silk is not water-proof! Flying in turbulent air can also be a problem, so keep well away from buildings and trees. Of course, as I've already mentioned, you don't have to actually fly your kite! They are genuine works of art, and many people have a dragon kite displayed somewhere in their home. Could be interesting in a 1 bedroom flat though... Also, some businesses have a large one hung up somewhere to attract attention. Gets more people through the door I guess. History Just a couple of notes here on some aspects of the Chinese dragon kite that go back a long time. Firstly, nearly all authentic dragon designs have the following features...
Secondly, many of the dragon kites that are flown or displayed around the world today were produced by Imperial Dragon Kites of Shanghai, in China. This company is old by anyone's standards! Can you believe they have been manufacturing this kind of kite for nearly 2 centuries! Pennon Dragon Kites
Pennon kites are a type that originated in Medieval times, and the Chinese equivalent is known as a 'dragon kite' by many people. In contrast to the centipede dragon, this kite is quite simple. It's flat, with a curved spar forming the top edge and a straight spar down the middle.A long, wide, tapering tail traces out the kite's flight path in the air. There are usually short tassels attached to each end of the curved spar as well. These are mainly for decoration. The picture over there shows an 18 meter (60 feet) dragon kite in flight! An old Chinese kite of this type would have been paper or silk with bamboo spars. The European variety was made of parchment and the common cloth materials of the day were used for the tail. These days, the bamboo spars are most often replaced with flexible fiberglass rods. The sail material is usually rip-stop nylon and sometimes Mylar film is used. A wide variety of designs can be painted on, not just dragon faces. But they are still called 'dragon kites'. A typical one measures 41 cm (16 inches) by 38 cm (15 inches) with a 5.5 meter (18 feet) tail. Designs with much longer tails are available too. Prices Most of these kites cost less than 20 US dollars, so they are not out of reach of children. The flying line and reel is included. Kids like them because of the swirling, colorful movement of the long tails. To give you some idea, when this page was written the cost was in the range US$15 up to US$40. Such simple kites, they must be quite easy to manufacture. I can imagine the process might be automated a bit, there seem to be a lot of these kites around. Flying
Flat dragons tend to swirl around in the wind, which is great since it really shows off the tail. The people who sell these kites do such a great job of describing how they look in the air, that I'm going to simply quote a few phrases I've spotted! Here they are...
Get the picture? :-) To give you some idea of the variety in store-bought dragon kites, here's a few names of currently available kites. All in alphabetical order, because I'm an orderly kind of guy...
History Just a tiny bit of history on this type of kite. As I mentioned earlier, they are based on the medieval Pennon Kite. Way back in 1405, a book on military technology was written which contained some illustrations. One illustration showed a pennon kite, according to the caption. Enough was known about flying kites at this time that 3 different bridle arrangements were described, for flying in various wind conditions. Other Dragon Kite DesignsOk, we've covered the 2 main types, but I've noticed one other type of traditional dragon kite.
The image of a creature is painted on by hand, giving a fairly realistic impression of the creature flying through the air. In the case of an ornate oriental dragon, this results in something like the Medieval Dragon kite in the picture over there. Western Influence On Dragon KitesI believe there are some traditional Chinese kites which are 3-D, where a little model of a creature is constructed from fine slivers of bamboo covered in silk or paper. A flat kite with straight spars is then attached to the 3D model which allows it to fly. However, the 3-D Dragon kites available in shops these days are quite different.
Here's another one. The 2 meter (6 feet) Dragon Delta Kite from New Tech. Like it's name suggests, it's actually the familiar delta kite with a dragon body attached underneath for looks! Not only that, but the makers have added a colorful long flat tail, like those Pennon kites, as well. Talk about a mixture! Other makers have come up with the Puff the Dragon Kite, again with rip-stop nylon wings and fiberglass frame. Kites featuring other creatures can be found too. Finally, let's consider the Chinese Pennon-style Dragon Kite again for a moment. Just about anything goes when it comes to decorating these kites! In many cases, a creature's face adorns the kite sail, but in other cases the sail is simply a canvas on which anything can be painted. So it's another example of how East and West have melted together, in kite design. MBK Flying Skewers And Plastic is a fun publication for kite lovers. Particularly single-line fliers! This FREE monthly newsletter will help keep you in touch... There's always something new being built or flown at MBK! Your FREE COPY of a great 87-page eBook on popular kites is waiting to be downloaded. It's my way of saying 'Thank You' for subscribing. Last updated: 21 Jun 2010 Return to Chinese Kites from Dragon Kites All the way back to Home Page
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Up close, you can see great detail in the fine bamboo framework of the head in particular. Raw silk is used for covering, and this is precisely and painstakingly painted by hand. Being Chinese, bright red is used a lot but plenty of other colors are used as well.
A simple and easy single-line kite, perfect for beginners. I might get one for my little boy when he grows up a bit! Having said that these kites suit beginners, they aren't quite as stable as say, a single-line delta or even the traditional diamond shaped kite.
Of all the many categories of Chinese kites, there is one for 'hard flat kites'. This category covers all flat kites that consist of curved and straight bamboo spars covered with silk or paper. Hence the outline of one of these kites can be complex, with some curved edges and some straight edges.
There's just a few of these on the market now, and they are made with appliquéd nylon sails and fiberglass spars. There's a picture of one over on the left, with an inflatable body! It's the Shrek 2 3D Dragon Kite, worth about US$60 and supplied with 36 kilo (80 pound) flying line and a carry case. Inspired by Chinese ideas, but hardly a traditional Chinese kite, even if some of these kinds of kites are actually made in China!