If you are in Vietnam, you will have a chance to fly the interesting “diều sáo”.Kite flying is popular throughout the year, especially in summer.Vietnamese people of different ages make kites of many shapes, sizes,materials and with bamboo flutes. “Diều sáo” not only attract people bytheir shapes and colours but also by their flutes. Every afternoon,when the wind tenderly blows, they will play “dieu sao” to enjoy so magical sound created by the flutes.

“Diều sáo”are built in a traditional Vietnamese style, with eight ovoid wingsattached, plus five bamboo flutes in graduated sizes, which are mountedon top and make a pleasing drone when the kite is flying. The fasterthe kite swoops, the more magical the sound of the flutes is.

Children'skites are often small, simple and covered with paper, while adults'kites may be more complex, cloth-covered, and feature one or more windflutes that play melodies as the kites fly.

Atypical adult's kite has four parts: the body, the steering string, theflying string and flutes. The frame is made of the smooth outer bamboostalk and is well polished. Kite-makers shape bamboo straps into acrescent two to three metres long and one metre wide. After that, theycover the frame with pieces of cotton cloth or carefully glued paper.If one half of the kite is heavier than the other, the steering stringwill help balance it. This string also serves to direct flight andprotect the kite wings from breaking if the wind is too strong. Theflying string is also made of bamboo and can be as long as 100m to150m. Young bamboo straps the size of chopsticks are tied together,then boiled in water or even in traditional Chinese medicine and saltso that the string becomes soft and flexible. Flutes of

Today,villagers build more sophisticated kites in the shape of phoenixes,butterflies and dragons. They replace thick bamboo strings with thinnerbamboo or plastic rope. Modern kites are very light and cost littlesince the materials to make them are readily available.

How to fly “diều sáo”?

TheVietnamese often fly “diều sáo” in the late afternoon as the sun beginsto set. Normally, two people fly one kite. One person holds the flyingstring while the other takes the kite and runs into the wind until thewind lifts the kite. Both of them keep the kite high in the sky fromday to day, even from summer to autumn.

Everyyear, kite-flying competitions take place in many northern and centralprovinces in Vietnam. The rules vary from place to place. In general,the most beautiful kite with the most interesting flute melodies wins.In particular, Quang Yen Townlet (Quang Ninh Province) holds a kite-fighting competition: regardless of design, kites that hit or break other kites will win.

Estimatedto be some 2,000 years old, “diều sáo" are so popular in Vietnamnationwide, where kite flying is seen as a sport, hobby and a religiouscustom.