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About 10,000 pigeons were released over Tiananmen Square on Thursday for China's National Day, continuing a tradition kept alive by ageing Beijingers in the city's hutongs.
About 10,000 pigeons were set free into the dawn sky over Tiananmen Square on Thursday as China marked National Day. The birds swept past the giant portrait of Chairman Mao before disappearing over Beijing's rooftops, as applause erupted from crowds lining the streets.
The spectacle, timed to the final notes of the national anthem, is a highlight of China's major ceremonial days. Many of the pigeons arrived back on their owners' doorsteps within minutes, well before spectators began slowly dispersing from the square. Zhang Jianquan, a veteran keeper, allows his pigeons to roam the skies over Beijing twice a day.
Pigeon Keepers of Xicheng
They almost always return home to their loft cage above his home in the city's Xicheng district, which lies two kilometres south of Tiananmen. The tradition owes much to old Beijingers such as Li Zhaoli, 79, a retired boilermaker and veteran pigeon keeper in Xicheng, not far from the square. His birds did not take part in this year's National Day release, but he has contributed dozens over the past 40 years.
By the time you hear on the broadcast that the pigeons have been released, yours have basically already come home, says Li. They land directly on top of the loft. Once you open the door, you do not have to do anything, they just go inside by themselves. Li is among an ageing cohort of tradition-keepers who raise pigeons on the courtyard rooftops of the city's hutongs, the ancient alleyways that wind through Beijing's imperial heart.
He keeps his brood in a loft-style cage above his compact 22-square-metre flat, where he has lived for decades on a street that now hosts boutique coffee shops, a wine bar, a steak restaurant and a premium flower shop. I started keeping pigeons when I was eight or nine years old, he says. My purpose? I have loved pigeons my whole life.
I am not really interested in selling them. Back then, food was scarce and people rarely kept more than 10 pigeons at a time. My family was struggling. We ate cornmeal buns.
Hutong Roots and Traditional Whistles
Sometimes I could not even bring myself to finish mine, I would hide half of it, and after everyone had finished eating, I would cut it into little pieces and feed it to the pigeons, he says. The hobby has noble origins in the Qing dynasty, from 1644 to 1912, when pigeon-keeping was an aristocratic pastime before it spread among the working-class living in the hutongs.
Some old hands such as Li still handcraft pigeon whistles from gourd and bamboo, attaching them to the bird's tail feathers to create a distinctive hum that echoes across the skies when they take flight. It helps ward off prey, while owners can identify their flocks by the sound. In days gone by, the sound was a morning clarion call over the hutongs, raising locals from their slumber.
A pigeon belonging to keeper Zhang Jianquan rests on a rooftop with a traditional handcrafted whistle attached to its tail feathers. Ahead of every National Day and other occasional significant events, local authorities tap associations in each Beijing district to put the call out among their members to volunteer birds. The animals are vetted before they are approved to fly. In past years, this has sparked amusing international headlines about thousands of pigeons undergoing anal cavity searches for suspicious objects.
Sometimes owners are given a small stipend for each bird, but the main drawcard is honour and prestige. Participants are rewarded with government-issued commemorative certificates and leg bands for each bird. All of them made it home, Li says. Because this was a political assignment, you had to feel a certain sense of pride about it.
National Day and Military Parades
The parade was watched across the world, as the latest Chinese weapons systems and nuclear-capable arsenal rolled down Chang'an Avenue and past Tiananmen Square, before 80,000 pigeons were released into the sky. Li shows the certificate of honour he received for contributing pigeons to the 80,000-strong flock released at the military parade in Beijing last year. Zhang Jianquan was not so fortunate. He and his brother dispatched 70 of their best pigeons for the parade.
More than a dozen did not come back, although one returned two months later, he says, adding he has no regrets. It brings honour to yourself and to the local community. There are quite a few pigeon keepers around here, but not everyone gets the chance to take part in major events like this. There is politics involved too, he says.
If you do not have the right connections in the pigeon association, chances are you do not get the opportunity to contribute. Almost 60 years old, Zhang is considered a relatively youthful hobbyist among the old-timers. The tradition is already close to disappearing, he says, speaking from the roof of his home as he watches his flock circle the city's evening skies. He releases them twice a day.
Nowadays, some young people live a fast-paced life. Not many are fond of doing this today. Li and Zhang say they earn little money from their hobby. But for other breeders, racing the birds is a high-stakes sport that can involve big prize pools and has captured the attention of authorities due to its gambling links.
Pigeon Navigation and Racing
Scientists have not fully figured out exactly how pigeons find their way home. What is known is that they have an innate compass that helps them navigate using Earth's magnetic field. Years ago, Li entered 16 pigeons in a 550-kilometre race, and every one of them came back. But the next year, when the race was extended to 600 kilometres, only one bird made it home.
It means those pigeons had reached the limit of their magnetic field. Beyond that, they lost their sense of direction, north, south, east and west all became confused, he says. If you have money, you can spend big and buy racing pigeons from Europe, says Zhang, referencing reports of a Chinese collector who paid 1.6 million euros, or 2.6 million dollars, for a Belgium-bred bird in 2020. But ordinary people like us cannot afford that. We take part for fun.
theage
smh:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
National Day China Tiananmen Square Pigeon Keepers Hutongs Homing Pigeons
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