Bird lovers lament pigeon market loss

Aigeleyuan, Beijing's largest pigeon market, is slated for demolition in 30 days and although most store owners have found a new location, many merchants and customers argued they would rather not move.

The market is the largest pigeon market in the city and is relatively centrally located, and its loss would be yet another blow to the preservation of Beijing's traditional culture, said an expert in Beijing folk customs.

The market, in Caihuying Xijie, Fengtai district, was built in 1997 and currently has over 100 stores, selling everything connected to pigeon fancying, from the birds, to medicine to coops. Many shops have been running for more than 10 years and their owners told the Global Times they simply do not want to move.

An anonymous pigeon feed shop owner who comes from Yi county, Hebei Province, told the Global Times he will be homeless after the upcoming demolition.

"I have a small business and I live here, but now the market will be demolished and I can do nothing about it. The only choice for me now is to go back to my rural village," he said.

A senior citizen, who was buying bird food in the store and declined to give his name, said he never thought this market would be demolished.

"I've been shopping in this market for many years. I'm 82, but every time I still ride my electronic tricycle here from Xidan [Xicheng district]. I only know this one, so where should I go to buy food for my birds if the market is gone, " he asked.

An anonymous staff member from the market's administration office said they were told the area is slated for a commercial office development.

"We are obliged to tell the shop owners they must leave, but it's not our duty to find a new shop for them. They need to discover their own solution," he said.

The market's budget rent price is one major reason merchants choose to stay there. Liu Kewei, 38, and owner of a pigeon medicine shop in the market said he only has to pay 0.8 yuan per square meter for his shop per day, and he can also cook and live there.

"Considering this market is within Beijing's Third Ring Road, the cost is really cheap. But now I have to say goodbye to it," he said. Liu's shop has two rooms, the inner room has a refrigerator, and the wall is covered with a thin layer of smoke.

Liu and around 80 percent of the other merchants will move to a new market in Wanliu, in Haidian district, fifteen kilometers away. The rent will be raised to 2.5 yuan ($0.4) per square meter per day, but for safety reasons, vendors will not be allowed to live in the new stores.

"To be honest, I don't want to move. Our market has become a brand. As every pigeon lover in Beijing knows us and they will come here, the business would be influenced if we move to another place," he said.

Some of the merchants believe the move will be good, as they expect to have a clean and regulated environment in the new location.　

Zhang Hongyan, another pigeon medicine retailer, said too many people are living and working in the market.

"When the weekend comes, this place becomes too crowded as there are too many shop owners, migrant workers and customers coming and going. I hope the new market can have a better environment," he said.

Gao Wei, secretary general of the Beijing Folk Art Association, noted according to previous experience, there is a great possibility the market will lose its popularity and its "old Beijing" atmosphere when it moves.

"The same story happened to Guanyuan fish, flower and pet market; it used to be popular but after it was demolished, it wasn't replaced by a similar market," Gao said.

The original Guanyuan market in Xicheng district was demolished in 2009 and replaced by an underground market, although not far from the original location.

"It's such a shame that Beijing can't sustain such a market for bird lovers. Business buildings are mushrooming everywhere, making this city into one only for the rich. The living space for ordinary people is dying in Beijing," Gao said.