In Pictures: Colourful creations fill sky at Chinese kite festival

A panda-shaped kite flies at the 41st International Kite Festival in Weifang (Tatan Syuflana/AP)

More than 1,000 kites have filled the skies above a coastal city in eastern China that touts itself as the “kite capital of the world”.

Locals say there is nothing that cannot sail in the air in Weifang.

(Tatan Syuflana/AP)

(Tatan Syuflana/AP)

(Tatan Syuflana/AP)

(Tatan Syuflana/AP)

Modern craftsmanship means kite-makers are boasting more elaborate, complex and bigger designs.

(Tatan Syuflana/AP)

(Tatan Syuflana/AP)

(Tatan Syuflana/AP)

(Tatan Syuflana/AP)

(Tatan Syuflana/AP)

Thousands of people take part in the festival, and some kites are so big they need more than one person to hold the string.

(Tatan Syuflana/AP)

(Tatan Syuflana/AP)

(Tatan Syuflana/AP)

Kite-makers say the craftsmanship has evolved over hundreds of years, with nylon fabrics becoming more common at the expense of traditional materials such as paper and silk.

(Tatan Syuflana/AP))

(Tatan Syuflana/AP)