Thousands of people on Sunday gathered at the Redondo Beach Pier in Los Angeles for its 48th Annual Festival of the Kite.
Hundreds of kites in a wide variety of shapes, including birds, eagles, swallows, princesses, and space robots, were flying in the sky. Prizes were awarded for the best hand-made kite, the highest-flying kite, and the youngest kite flyer.
The annual festival, which is one of the longest-running kite festivals in the United States, also featured live music, local dance, and martial arts demos.
Cathy Smith, a local resident living in Torrance, flew a goat-shaped kite featuring a character in the Chinese animated television series "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf," which has been enormously popular with Chinese children after its debut in 2005.
"The kite festival symbolizes the start of spring," Smith told Xinhua, adding it was her third time to participate in the annual event.