Feathering the nest
Shanghai is the birthplace of China's racing pigeon culture. After Shanghai opened its port in 1843, foreign traders, merchants and travellers introduced Western racing pigeons and, in 1929, Westerners built the Shanghai Homing Pigeon Club, the first racing pigeon club in Shanghai. Six years later, the club had its first Shanghai-born chairman and board members, and the pigeon enthusiasts at the club went on to create some of the best Chinese pigeon breeds of the time, including the Li, the Wusong Bird, and the Shanghai Sion, all famous for their wonderful sense of direction, endurance and speed.
The pigeon culture evolved quickly in Shanghai and by the 1950s there were nine different pigeon clubs in the city. In the early 1960s, the nine clubs merged into four, with more than 1,500 registered pigeon club members. In 1964, the four pigeon clubs merged again to become the Shanghai Racing Pigeon Association.
By 2005, the association had over 9,000 members and over 370,000 registered pigeons.
Last month the dismantling of an illegal pigeon loft made the headlines in many city newspapers. Built on the rooftop of a 10-floor apartment building in Baoshan district more than 10 years ago, it was dubbed a mansion among the pigeon lofts of Shanghai.
Most of the lofts in Shanghai are located in old neighborhoods. However, it won't be long before they become a rarity. In 2003 the Shanghai Racing Pigeon Association ruled that new pigeon lofts should not be built within the inner ring road, where the population density was highest. With the demolition and relocation of neighborhoods, many existing pigeon lofts will soon vanish as well.
