The giant kite, made by Minzhu villagers, is ready for a trial flight on Feb 11. The kite, with the size of 3x3.3 meters, is decorated with patterns of the sun, moon, and stars. [Photo/ptnet.cn]

While making the kite is certainly no walk in the park, the most difficult part is actually flying the thing and the villagers often practice before the big day. Tradition dictates the kite needs to tour the entirety of the village and it takes the cooperation of 20 villagers to successfully fly the creation.

Wu Hongwang, one organizer of this kite flying tradition, said that he can remember carrying out the practice when he was a child and it is his hope that this custom will be exposed to more and more people and become inherited generation after generation.

The Lantern Festival falls every year on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar. The festival is held to mark the first full moon of the new lunar year and is celebrated in China by hanging colorful lanterns, playing games, and gathering with friends to eat glutinous rice balls known as yuanxiao.