Balloons and pigeons are released into the sky over Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Sept 3, 2025. - Xinhua
BEIJING: Pigeons have returned home after they were released at the commemorative event marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese people's war against Japan, in Beijing on Wednesday (Sept 3).
For many breeders, the event was a source of pride.
"The greatest pleasure of raising pigeons is hoping that our pigeons can fly in Tiananmen Square. It's a supreme honour," Zhang Zhigang, a Beijing pigeon enthusiast, said in an interview with China Central Television.
Another participant, identified only by his surname Yang, said 40 of his pigeons took part. The fastest bird flew the 25km back to his home in just 20 minutes, and by 6pm on Wednesday, all had returned, Jiupai News reported.
Yang said he had trained and fed the pigeons daily in preparation. He said he was not worried about them losing their way, as homing pigeons "navigate through magnetic fields and generally don't get lost".
Sun Peng, the secretary-general of the Beijing pigeon association, said these 80,000 pigeons are from the members of the association, People's Daily reported.
After being released, local residents in Beijing found some pigeons that had strayed on roads, but some believed that the birds might have been stopping to rest. - China Daily/ANN
