[ti:In China, Pigeon Racers Spend Big Money to Get Winning Birds] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]In China, a large number of people [00:03.32]take the sport of pigeon racing very seriously. [00:08.84]Many competitors spend big money [00:12.32]to get their hands on top-performing birds. [00:17.48]One such competitor is 57-year-old Yu Yuguang. [00:23.36]He says he gets so excited waiting for his pigeons [00:28.24]to arrive at the end of a race that his heart starts beating fast. [00:34.92]“Those are the most intense [00:37.52]and enjoyable moments of a pigeon race,” [00:41.32]Yu told Reuters news agency. [00:45.72]He said the sport is like playing the lottery. [00:49.48]And so far, he has been lucky. [00:53.72]Recently, his 7-month-old pigeon named “Little Ancestor” [00:59.68]placed first in a Chinese Racing Pigeon Association race. [01:06.36]The bird beat more than 4,800 other competitors. [01:12.68]Little Ancestor completed a trip of about 1,000 kilometers [01:18.68]in a record time of 16 hours, 24 minutes and 54 seconds. [01:26.80]The race started in Langfang, [01:29.80]near the Chinese capital Beijing, and ended in Shanghai. [01:36.32]The win earned Yu $760 in prize money. [01:42.76]That amount, however, is far less than the $30,600 [01:50.00]he spends on his 500 pigeons each year. [01:55.48]Pigeon racing has a long history in China. [02:00.16]It began as a sport enjoyed mainly by very rich people. [02:06.48]But the country's economic development over the years [02:10.56]has permitted the sport to spread beyond the wealthy. [02:16.12]Membership in the Chinese Pigeon Association [02:19.80]has jumped from tens of thousands in the 1980s [02:24.56]to about 400,000 today, [02:27.76]says the group's vice president, Huang Jian. [02:32.92]Those numbers are impressive. [02:35.76]Belgium, the traditional heartland of the sport, [02:39.72]has about 20,000 pigeon racers. [02:44.44]While China's numbers remain high, [02:47.52]most of the big money being put into the sport [02:50.84]comes from wealthy individuals. [02:54.84]These leaders in the sport are willing to pay huge amounts [02:59.40]to get the most sought-after pigeon bloodlines. [03:05.04]Last month, a Chinese collector made news [03:08.52]by paying $1.9 million for a racing pigeon [03:13.72]at a public sale in Belgium. [03:17.52]The sale was the latest in a series of high offers [03:21.68]made by Chinese pigeon owners. [03:25.44]Such moves have driven prices up. [03:29.36]Some Chinese breeders are also willing to bid heavily [03:34.40]on their own birds at public sales to increase their market value. [03:41.40]One Hangzhou-based breeder, who gave his name as Ying, [03:46.36]traveled to Beijing last month for an auction. [03:51.44]There, he bought back six of his own pigeons, [03:55.24]all of which had placed high in races. [04:00.24]Ying says he bought the birds at prices ranging from $2,300 to $7,600. [04:11.64]He says he did not think twice about spending the money. [04:16.92]“I'm so in love with pigeons. I love them so much. [04:21.84]In my heart, pigeons come first [04:25.04]and my wife and children second,” he said. [04:29.72]I'm Bryan Lynn. [04:32.16]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM