First Hot Air Balloon?
On June 4, 1783, two brothers from a prosperous French paper manufacturer family, Joseph and Étienne Montgolfier, launched the first public demonstration of a hot air balloon in the West. The balloon was set off from the centre of Paris and flew for a period of 20 minutes.
The Westerners may hail for this first hot air balloon, but in China, such things are no surprise at all. The Chinese could make flying lanterns as early as two thousand years ago.
The flying lantern is called Kongming lantern in China, because Kongming, the sage in the Three Kingdoms Period (220 AD - 280 AD) in China, is said to be the inventor of such lanterns.
The frame of the Kongming lantern is made of bamboo chips. Then a layer of paper is attached to the frame, forming a ball or a cube. There is an opening at the bottom of the paper layer. Under it was a support, on which you can put a candle or a piece of cloth soaked with oil. When you light the candle or oil, the air in the lantern is heated, so the lantern will fly to the sky. After the candle or oil burns out, the lantern will slowly cool down and descend on the ground. Detailed instructions on how to make a flying lantern can be found here.
When Kongming first invented the flying lantern, he used it to send messages in the army. Later, lanterns flying gradually became a fun game in China. Nowadays such flying lanterns are so popular in China that even uneducated peasants know how to make them.
This is a video of Chinese peasants flying the lantern:
http://vhead.blog.sina.com.cn/player/outer_player.swf?auto=1&vid=12413205&uid=1371185877
Kongming lanterns can be big or small, round or square. You can also paint pictures or write words on it.
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