Hearts aflutter, China's pigeon racing enthusiasts spend big to indulge their passion

扑朔迷离，出于激情中国赛鸽爱好者投入巨资

By Thomas Peter, Thomas Suen 3 MIN READ

作者：托马斯·彼得（Thomas Peter），托马斯·苏恩（Thomas Suen）

BEIJING (Reuters) - Yu Yuguang’s heart beats faster every time he stands on his roof, eyes trained to the sky waiting for one of his pigeons to pass through the trap door of its home loft.

北京（路透社）-余育广每次站在屋顶上时，心脏的跳动都更快，目光注视着天空，等待他的赛鸽子穿他家鸽舍入口的门。

“Those are the most intense and enjoyable moments of a pigeon race,” says Yu, 57, adding that the sport is like playing the lottery.

57岁的于表示：“那是赛鸽比赛中最激烈，最有趣的时刻。”他补充说，这项运动就像购买彩票中奖一样。

He has been lucky. “Little Ancestor”, his 7-month-old pigeon, came first in a recent Chinese Racing Pigeon Association race, beating more than 4,800 competitors and completing a journey of just over 1,000 km from Langfang, near the Chinese capital Beijing, to Shanghai in a record time of 16 hours, 24 minutes and 54 seconds.

他很幸运。他的一羽七个月大的鸽子“小祖先”在中国信鸽协会最近举办的秋季国家赛中排名第一，击败4,800多名竞争对手，完成了从中国首都北京附近的廊坊飞回上海1000多公里旅程，记录时间为16小时24分钟54秒。

The 5,000 yuan ($760) prize money, however, pales in comparison to the 200,000 yuan ($30,600) Yu spends on his 500 pigeons each year.

然而，与他每年花费在他所饲养的500多羽鸽子上的20万元人民币（30,600美元）相比，他这次所得到的5,000元人民币（760美元）奖金相形见绌。

In China, where pigeon racing has a long history, economic development has allowed the sport to spread beyond the ultra-wealthy. Membership in the Chinese Pigeon Association has jumped from tens of thousands in the 1980s to about 400,000, according to its vice president, Huang Jian.

在中国，养鸽历史源远流长，经济发展已使这项运动的到快速发展。 据其中鸽协副主席黄剑介绍，目前在中国信鸽协会的会员人数已从1980年代的数万增加到40万。

By comparison Belgium, the traditional heartland of the sport, has about 20,000 pigeon fanciers.

相比之下，作为这项运动的传统心脏地带的比利时，目前还剩大约20,000名赛鸽爱好者。

That said, most of the huge sums that go into the sport are from deep-pocketed top-tier enthusiasts, eager to get their hands on coveted blood lines.

也就是说，当前这项运动的大部分巨额资金来自财大气粗的顶级发烧友，他们渴望获得令人垂涎的优秀血统种鸽。

In November this year, a Chinese collector made headlines when he paid 1.6 million euros ($1.9 million) for a racing pigeon at an auction in Belgium - the latest in a string of eye-catching bids by Chinese fanciers that have driven up prices.

今年11月，一位中国收藏家在比利时的拍卖会上以160万欧元（合190万美元）的价格购入了一羽名鸽，成为头条新闻。这是中国鸽友一连串引人注目的竞标，最新竞价刷新了记录。

Some Chinese breeders are also willing to bid heavily on their own birds at auctions to increase their market value.

一些中国鸽友还愿意在拍卖会上对自己的鸽子出以高价，以增加其市场价值。

A Hangzhou-based breeder, who gave his name as Ying, travelled to Beijing last month for an auction, buying back six of his own pigeons which had placed well in races.

一位家住杭州名字叫“英”的鸽主，上个月去北京拍卖，回购了六羽自己在北京比赛中表现良好的鸽子。

Ying, who bought them at prices ranging from 15,000 to 50,000 yuan, didn’t think twice about the cash he spent.

“英”以15,000至50,000元人民币的价格买下那六只奖鸽，他毫不犹豫地以现金支付。

“I’m so in love with pigeons. I love them so much. In my heart, pigeons come first and my wife and children second,” he said.

“我非常爱鸽子。 我很爱它们。 在我心中，鸽子是第一位的，我的妻子和孩子是第二位的，”他风趣地说。

Reporting by Thomas Peter and Thomas Suen in Beijing; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Edwina Gibbs

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