The young man from Nghe An province is passionate about kite flying.

(Baonghean.vn) - "Kite King""That's the nickname friends give to Nguyen Sy Cuong (19 years old) from Hamlet 2, Thanh Luong Commune (Thanh Chuong District) – a young man with an unusual passion for kites with whistles."

"Kite flying" in the village fields.

Born into a family with a tradition of kite flying, with both his father and older brother being passionate about kites, Cuong learned to make kites himself since the fourth grade. To date, he can't remember how many hundreds of kites he's made, both single-string and multi-string kites.

Cuong recounted that, back when he was at home, he only knew how to make traditional kites from his hometown, characterized by their large bodies and single whistles (one main whistle, two auxiliary whistles). After returning from the South, Cuong learned to make many new types of kites with diverse shapes, featuring multiple whistles and beautiful colors. Whenever Cuong goes kite flying, people easily recognize his kites by their striking shapes and colors against the sky.

Cuong's hands were both diligent and skillful in making the parts of the bamboo kite.

The inside of the whistle cone, the most elaborate part of the whistle kite.

After graduating from high school, Cuong worked in Binh Duong for two years. There, he joined the Di An Kite Club, traveling with the club to various provinces and cities in the Eastern and Southwestern regions of Vietnam to fly kites, and met many skilled kite flyers in Ho Chi Minh City. Thanks to his passion and diligent learning, Cuong accumulated a lot of experience in making and flying kites.

Returning to his hometown, besides farming with his family, Cuong focused on making kites, both to satisfy his passion and to earn extra income. Fortunately, Cuong's father was a carpenter, so the house had all the necessary tools like saws and chisels. In the past, Cuong's father also made kites, and now, in his free time, he and his son repair kite whistles.

At Cuong's house, you'll find tools and materials for making and flying kites scattered everywhere – under the bed, on tables and chairs, on curtains… Except when he's away, Cuong is always seen diligently working on his kites. Lately, he's been focusing on making large kites with wingspans of 3.5-4 meters, capable of carrying 7-9 double whistles. Each kite costs no less than 1 million dong.

Cuong shared: "Seeing how beautiful my kites are and how pleasant the whistles sound, customers from both within and outside the province often come to order them. Although the income from selling kites isn't large, it helps support my family while I don't have a stable job."

Every day, except when he's away from home, Cường is always busy tinkering with his kite.

Cuong's intense passion for kite flying has been recognized with several achievements, including: a bronze medal at the kite flying competition in Binh Duong (2015), first and second prizes at the kite flying competition at the Lang Sen Festival in 2016…

Cuong said: "I've been involved with kite flying since I was a child and will continue to be so for a long time. I hope that in the future, our province will also establish a kite-flying club so that kite enthusiasts in the province have a place to socialize, learn, and further spread this traditional yet captivating hobby."

Huy Thu