Saturday was gorgeous here, sunny and in the ‘70s, so naturally Lara and I headed outside. We went to buy a kite. Down by the river, along the highway that runs by the main gate of our university, we always see kites in the sky. There are also several varieties of kites displayed for sale on a wall by a little fruit stand there. We took a walk down to this area, and bought two kites, then thought we’d sit and have some tea before flying them.

On the bridge, looking down to where the kite flyers congregate, we saw several old men fully decked out to fly kites. Seeing our kites, they started waving for us to come down and join them. So we did, putting off our visit to the teahouse. After an embarrassing attempt to get ours in the air, thwarted by the cheap string we were sold which broke very easily, we sat and watched the masters work. These photos give you some idea of how awesome these gentlemen and their kites are.

This man seems proud to have his picture taken.

Notice the blue sky, a rare Chengdu occurrence.

The Boys.

Up close, this kite appears to be homemade, as most of them are.

The Chengdu Panda Kite.

Happy Kiter.

The Sichuan Opera Kite.

Tools of the Trade.

Calling it a Day.