Beijing residents play fetch with migratory birds in ancient China tradition

• In winter and early spring, some Beijing residents enjoy catching and playing with birds, a tradition dating back to the Qing Dynasty.
• This tradition dates back to the 17th and early 20th centuries.
• It is believed that only about 50 to 60 people practice this tradition in modern-day Beijing.

Passersby in Beijing in winter or early spring may come across groups of residents playing fetch with birds. Players blow plastic beads up into the air through a carbon tube to catch birds (often migratory Wootton species) that come back and exchange for treats.

This is a tradition in Beijing that dates back to the Qing Dynasty, which ruled from the 17th century to the early 20th century. Currently, it is believed that only about 50 to 60 people practice this custom in Beijing.

Xie Yufeng, a 39-year-old chef, is one of them. Late Tuesday afternoon, Xie gathered with several friends near the Workers’ Stadium. There, residents often gather at night to tandem dance, practice tai chi, or play Chinese yo-yo.

Birds as symbols of wisdom — and what owls can teach us

Xie and her friends brought along a feathered playmate. Most of them have distinctive yellow beaks and are birds that migrate south from northeastern China to Beijing every fall to escape the harsh winters.

Xie said it may take four to five months to tame the birds and train them for the bead-catching game. Players teach birds to fetch seeds by first throwing them into the air and then replacing them with plastic beads. Each time the birds retrieve a bead, they are rewarded with a treat. Once upon a time, beads were made from bone.

“To do this well, patience is the most important quality for a player,” Xie said.

A man shoots beads through a tube to catch birds and prepares to throw them up outside a stadium in Beijing, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Hang-guan)

This tradition is said to have taken root in the capital with the arrival of the Qing Dynasty, the Manchu people who ruled Beijing in the mid-1600s.

Manchu aristocrats who lived around the Forbidden City are thought to have popularized catching and training birds for entertainment.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Residents of Beijing’s traditional alleys, called hutongs in Chinese, still often keep birds in cages, and sometimes take them out for walks.

A Wutong bird catches a bead with its beak outside a stadium in Beijing on March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Hang-guan)

Wootton bird owners usually release their birds in late spring and allow them to return to the northeast, only to catch them or purchase new birds the following fall.