Editing Kite (section)

=== Asia ===
[[File:Image taken from page 64 of 'Travels in India, including Sinde and the Punjab; ... translated from the German, by H. E. Lloyd' (11024411234).jpg|thumb|Kite maker from India, image from ''Travels in India, including Sinde and the Punjab'' by H. E. Lloyd, 1845]]
Kite flying is popular in many Asian countries, where it often takes the form of "[[kite fighting]]", in which participants try to snag each other's kites or cut other kites down.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9045682 |title=Kite.(2007) Encyclopædia Britannica Online |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |access-date=2013-04-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ikkai |first=Chie |date=2006 |title=Kite Battle: Tradition and Acculturation |url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ijshs/4/Special_Issue_2006/4_Special_Issue_2006_179/_article |journal=International Journal of Sport and Health Science |volume=4 |issue=Special_Issue_2006 |pages=179–186 |doi=10.5432/ijshs.4.179}}</ref> [[Fighter kite]]s are usually small, flattened diamond-shaped kites made of paper and bamboo. Tails are not used on fighter kites so that agility and maneuverability are not compromised.[[File:Thrill-of-flying-kites 640.jpg|thumb|Boy flying kite in outskirts of [[Kathmandu Valley|Kathmandu]] Valley]]In [[Afghanistan]], kite flying is a popular game, and is known in [[Dari (Eastern Persian)|Dari]] as ''Gudiparan Bazi''. Some kite fighters pass their strings through a mixture of ground glass powder and glue, which is legal. The resulting strings are very abrasive and can sever the competitor's strings more easily. The abrasive strings can also injure people. During the [[Taliban]] rule in Afghanistan, kite flying was banned, among various other recreations.

In [[Pakistan]], kite flying is often known as Gudi-Bazi or Patang-bazi. Although kite flying is a popular ritual for the celebration of spring festival known as [[Jashn-e-Baharaan]] (lit. Spring Festival) or [[Basant (season)|Basant]], kites are flown throughout the year. [[Fighter kite|Kite fighting]] is a very popular pastime all around Pakistan, but mostly in urban centers across the country (especially [[Lahore]]).  The kite fights are at their highest during the spring celebrations and the fighters enjoy competing with rivals to cut-loose the string of the others kite, popularly known as "Paecha". During the spring festival, kite flying competitions are held across the country and the skies are colored with kites. When a competitor succeeds in cutting another's kite loose, shouts of 'wo kata' ring through the air. Cut kites are reclaimed by chasing after them. This is a popular ritual, especially among the country's youth, and is depicted in the 2007 film ''[[The Kite Runner (film)|The Kite Runner]]'' (although that story is based in neighboring [[Afghanistan]]).  Kites and strings are a big business in the country and several different types of string are used, including glass-coated, metal, and tandi. Kite flying was banned in [[Punjab, India]] due to more than one motorcyclist death caused by glass-coated or metal kite strings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Basant: Colorless skies as ban on kite flying in Pakistan continues |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/basant-colorless-skies-as-ban-on-kite-flying-in-pakistan-continues/2473162 |access-date=2022-03-14 |website=www.aa.com.tr}}</ref> Kup, Patang, Guda, and Nakhlaoo are some of the popular kite brands; they vary in balance, weight and speed.

In [[Indonesia]] kites are flown as both sport and recreation. One of the most popular kite variants is from [[Bali]]. Balinese kites are unique and they have different designs and forms; birds, butterflies, dragons, ships, etc. In [[Vietnam]], kites are flown without tails. Instead small flutes are attached allowing the wind to "hum" a musical tune. There are other forms of sound-making kites. In Bali, large bows are attached to the front of the kites to make a deep throbbing vibration, and in Malaysia, a row of gourds with sound-slots are used to create a whistle as the kite flies. Malaysia is also home to the [[Kite Museum (Malacca)|Kite Museum]] in [[Malacca]].<ref>Pogadaev, Victor. Svetly Mesyatz-Zmei Kruzhitsa (My Lord Moon Kite) - "Vostochnaya Kollektsia" (Oriental Collection). M.: Russian State Library. N 4 (38), 2009, 129-134. {{ISSN|1681-7559}}</ref>

Kite are also popular in [[Nepal]], especially in hilly areas and among the [[Pahari people (Nepal)|Pahadi]] and [[Newar people|Newar]] communities, although people also fly kites in [[Terai]] areas. Unlike India, people in Nepal fly kites in August – September period and is more popular in time of [[Dashain]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sijapati|first=Alisha|title=Kite fight over Kathmandu|url=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kite-fight-over-kathmandu/|website=Nepalitimes.com|date=8 October 2020 |access-date=2020-11-18|language=en-US}}</ref>

Kites are very popular in [[India]], with the states of Gujarat, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab notable for their kite fighting festivals. Highly maneuverable single-string paper and bamboo kites are flown from the rooftops while using line friction in an attempt to cut each other's kite lines, either by letting the cutting line loose at high speed or by pulling the line in a fast and repeated manner.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nikita Desai - A Different Freedom_ Kite Flying in Western India_ Culture and Tradition-Cambridge Scholars Publishing (2010) {{!}} PDF {{!}} Kite |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/803113960/Nikita-Desai-A-Different-Freedom-Kite-Flying-in-Western-India-Culture-and-Tradition-Cambridge-Scholars-Publishing-2010 |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=Scribd |language=en}}</ref> During the Indian spring festival of [[Makar Sankranti]], near the middle of January, millions of people fly kites all over northern India.  Kite flying in Hyderabad starts a month before this, but kite flying/fighting is an important part of other celebrations, including [[Republic Day]], Independence Day, [[Raksha Bandhan]], [[Vishvakarman#Vishwakarma Puja|Viswakarma Puja day]] in late September and [[Janmashtami]]. An international kite festival is held every year before [[Uttarayan]] for three days in [[Vadodara]], [[Surat]] and [[Ahmedabad]].

Kites have been flown in China since ancient times. [[Weifang]] is home to the largest kite museum in the world.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/2018/feb/02/story-of-a-kite-1767394.html|title=Story of a Kite|work=The New Indian Express|access-date=2018-03-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Weifang World Kite Museum in Weifang,Shandong Province - China.org.cn|url=http://www.china.org.cn/travel/2009-11/11/content_18864993.htm#:~:text=.%5BGlobal%20Times%5D-,The%20Weifang%20World%20Kite%20Museum%20is%20the%20largest%20kite%20museum,area%20of%208,100%20square%20meters.|access-date=2020-08-25|website=China.org.cn}}</ref> It also hosts an annual international kite festival on the large salt flats south of the city. There are several kite museums in Japan, UK, [[Malaysia]], Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and the USA. In the pre-modern period, Malays in [[Singapore]] used kites for fishing.<ref>{{cite book|last=Skeat|first=Walter William|title=Malay Magic: An Introduction to the Folklore and Popular Religion of the Malay Peninsula|year=1965|isbn=978-0-7146-2026-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K9Ly7Q9p-dgC&q=cock%20fighting%20malay&pg=PA485|page=485|publisher=Psychology Press }}</ref>

In Japan, kite flying is traditionally a children's play in New Year holidays and in the Boys' Festival in May. In some areas, there is a tradition to celebrate a new boy baby with a new kite (祝い凧). There are many kite festivals throughout Japan. The most famous one is "Yōkaichi Giant Kite Festival" in [[Higashiōmi, Shiga]], which started in 1841.<ref>[http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/michi/cgi/detail.cgi?dasID=D0004200022_00000 八日市大凧まつり] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526154143/http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/michi/cgi/detail.cgi?dasID=D0004200022_00000 |date=2015-05-26 }}[[NHK]](video)</ref> The largest kite ever built in the festival is {{convert|62|ft|m|0}} wide by {{convert|67|ft|m|0}} high and weighs {{convert|3307|lbs|kg|0}}.<ref>[http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~et3m-tkkw/h4.html GIANT KITE FESTIVALS IN JAPAN ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311024744/http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~ET3M-TKKW/h4.html |date=2012-03-11 }} Japanese Kite Collection</ref> In the [[Hamamatsu Kite Festival]] in [[Hamamatsu, Shizuoka]], more than 100 kites are flown in the sky over the [[Nakatajima Sand Dunes]], one of the three largest sand dunes in Japan, which overlooks the Enshunada Sea.<ref>[http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/spot/festival/hamamatsufes.html A spectacular festival of some 100 large kites flying over sand dunes.] Japan National Tourism Organization</ref> Parents who have a new baby prepare a new kite with their baby's name and fly it in the festival.<ref>[http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/michi/cgi/detail.cgi?dasID=D0004200028_00000　Hamamatsu Matsuri] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527184421/http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/michi/cgi/detail.cgi?dasID=D0004200028_00000 |date=2015-05-27 }} [[NHK]]</ref> These kites are traditional ones made from bamboo and paper.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Malaysiakite.jpg|Making a traditional ''Wau jala budi'' kite in [[Malaysia]]. The bamboo frame is covered with plain paper and then decorated with multiple layers of shaped paper and foil.
File:Balinese Kites 5.jpg|Various Balinese kites is on display in front of a store in [[Ubud]], Bali, Indonesia
File:Kite shop in Lucknow.jpg|A kite shop in [[Lucknow]], India
File:Japanese kites.jpg|Traditional Japanese kites
File:Wt-3395EX4.5.jpg|Different kites are sold at a shop in [[Hội An]], Vietnam
</gallery>