The Weifang International Kite Festival in East China's Shandong Province will feature the "Carnival of Kite's Capital Night," a tourist commodities fair, and a foreign trade fair in late April and early May.

Kite-flying competitions include three parts: the international, national and city-level contests.

About 1,200 contestants from 110 kite-flying teams at home and abroad have registered to participate in the competition, the highlight of the festival.

The 2004 National Kite-Flying Championship will also be held at the site during the event. A total of 72 teams from Weifang will compete in a city-level competition.

The activities will be co-hosted by the International Kite Federation and the Weifang International Kite Festival Office.

"The competition has become a boost for local economic and social development," said Zhang Jiangting, executive deputy mayor of the city."

The competition has speeded up the pace of the city's integration with the rest of the world and strengthened economic exchanges with foreign countries, Zhang added.

Despite the negative impact of the outbreak of the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), more than 10,000 business people attended the event last year, with 451 contracts and agreements with an investment value of 26.6 billion yuan (US$3.2 billion) signed.

For the first time, the preliminary contest of the "Miss Kite of the World" will be held between April 10 and 25. The organizing committee announced procedures for the event in early February.

A total of 67 candidates will be chosen from the 67 members of the International Kite Federation. Another 34 candidates will be chosen from provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions on the Chinese mainland.

The final competition will be held in late August and early September during the annual Shandong-Taiwan Trade Fair.

Since the first kite festival in 1984, Weifang has established cultural exchanges with more than 60 countries and regions and trade ties with more than 110 countries and regions. The city has become the kite capital of the world and the headquarters of the International Kite Federation.

(China Daily March 23, 2004)