The 32nd Weifang International Kites Festival will kick off on April 18. [Photo/Agencies]

The 32nd Weifang International Kites Festival will kick off on April 18 in Weifang, East China's Shandong province.

The festival, which runs until early May, has 16 themed activities that fall into three main categories, namely kite flying, cultural promotion and attracting investment.

Weifang, famous as "home to kites", aims to use the occasion to brand itself. This year's festival hopes to draw more participants with diverse kite activities. The opening ceremony will include a kite-flying performance involving several thousand participants.

A series of cultural, tourist and investment events, such as the 2015 International Kite-themed Design Competition, a trade fair between Chinese and South Korean enterprises, a special trip to Weifang by foreign diplomats in China, the 5th Chinese Painting Festival and the 1st China (Weifang) International Art Biennale, will also be held.