No Chinese event would be complete without vendors hawking all kinds of food, toys, and knick-knacks. Typcially, the vendors are the same -- boiled corn on the cob, cheesy gee-haws, and binoculars. At the festival, though, we were delighted to see a whole bunch of new things for sale.

Of course, kites were on offer everywhere! The competitors wouldn't part with their treasures, but if you had an itch to fly, plenty of vendors would give you a scratch. This was the first one that caught our eye, outside the main gate of the festival:

As you can see, most of the kites were newer types -- using ripstop nylon and aluminum poles instead of silk paper and bamboo. But even though the materials were state-of-the-art, the kites still had plenty of charm!

Some of the vendors did sell old-fashioned kites, such as the gorgeous butterfly and hawk kites on the left. I was especially amused by the mobile kite stores, which would zip around the field to the largest concentration of people, just in case someone suddenly developed an irrestible urge to fly!

Kites weren't the only thing for sale. These guys took leaves and then wove them into larger-than-life grasshoppers. The end result was beautiful and super light-weight, proving once again that human ingenuity can transform the most basic materials into works of art!
This guy was selling all sorts of flutes and stringed instruments. I didn't see anyone buy one, which was for the best, since in order to attract customers the vendor played beautiful tunes as he walked around. It was a wonderful soundtrack to the aerial display.

My favorite vendor sold little butterflies, made from some kind of man-made material. They fluttered in the wind, and were a big hit with the crowd -- especially these young girls!

Our own girls quickly got the itch to fly a kite. Click here to see how they scratched it!