Changing faces: Liu Changsheng. Beijing pigeon raiser

Flocks of homing pigeons crossing blue skies and whistling past buildings used to be a common sight in Beijing. But it's getting harder to raise birds in the capital as the number of high-rise buildings grows, air quality deteriorates and electromagnetic interference from military radar and mobile phone base stations rises. Liu Changsheng , 67, is a fourth-generation member of a pigeon-raising family. He tells how the city's changing environment has affected pigeons and why the fun they bring can never be replaced by other pets.

My family used to live in a traditional Chinese quadrangle on the site of today's National Centre for the Performing Arts near Tiananmen Square. Both my grandfather and my father love pigeons. So do I. Pigeons are sentient animals and they took to me as a friend. Every day when I got home from school, some of them would fly down and perch on my shoulder to greet me. In the 1990s, we were asked to move out of our home as the city centre was being rebuilt. The developer offered me several apartments to choose from, all in high-rise buildings, but I didn't go because there were no places to settle my pigeons. Finally, I moved to this apartment, which is on the top floor, so I can keep my pigeon cages on the roof. It's about 200 square metres and ideal for my 500-plus pigeons. Of course, the traditional Chinese quadrangle is a much better place to raise birds. In high-rises, the place is much smaller and your neighbours may regard them as a nuisance.

When I get up on a sunny morning, open the cages and let the pigeons fly high, I just forget all my worries, seeing them wheel in the air above my head. Sometimes when I'm tired, it's most relaxing to see them walking, singing and eating around me. I've lived in Beijing for many years, but I have never stayed overnight elsewhere. It's all to take care of my pigeons. My son is not interested in this. But my elder brother is also a big fan of pigeons and I may give all my birds to him one day.

I acquired most of my pigeons from my friends overseas. They are breeds from the United States, Belgium, Japan, the Netherlands, Malta and other countries. In 1996, I bought 12 homing pigeons from my friend in the US for 117,000 yuan (HK$143,680). It's impossible for others to get such a cheap price for that breed. Most people have to attend auctions and bid for the good ones. In the 1980s, I took my birds to a number of long-distance races. One of them won second place in a 1,500-kilometre race from Xiangfan in Hubei province to Beijing. After that I joined the Homing Pigeon Association in Beijing's Xicheng district, which also organises races. There are many good breeds of pigeon that originated in China. I collected information about them and pictures and compiled a book, Fancy Pigeons. I hope more people can learn about the beauty of Chinese pigeons.