Kite Flying and Watermelon Season

by Humanoido
(China)

While in Mainland China, it was a kite enthusiast's dream come true. Everywhere people were making kites, flying kites, selling kites on the street, and kite stores dotted the side roads with 'professional' kite equipment.

One could find kites for every purpose including history, hobby, sporting, exercise, experimental, equipment lofting, surveying, mapping, science, weather, robotics or just great fun!

One could see kites flown around trees, at the roadside, by power lines, from residential homes, parking lots, business districts and around skyscrapers. Of course, parks with lots of trees were very popular places with sometimes hundreds of people enjoying the sport.

The raw evidence was there too - kite fragments stuck in trees, power lines, telephone poles, and on rooftops. A few people were proud of their monuments, saying, "That's my kite up there on the power lines from last season!"

When I was re-stationed in Taiwan, things took a big turn. I took my big kite and equipment with me. But this time around - in one year’s passing, I didn't see one kite. Sadly, my kite gathered dust as I feared the worst - new laws preventing kite flying. Well, why not? I was cited a several hundred dollar warning for chewing gum on the subway transport. That's strict! I envisioned even harsher laws against public kite flying.

Then one day, a bright ray of sunlight appeared to open up the world once again to all things good... A kite appeared, flying high above the park against a backdrop of a bright blue sky. I quickly took note of the location, and realized I had traveled a distance from my home to "the land of kites!"

Only then did I realize, kites here are like watermelon - they have a season! Welcome to watermelon and kite flying season!