Beijingers Play Fetch with Migratory Birds in Traditional Game

Xie Yufeng, a 39-year-old cook, throws a bird up as he shoots a bead through a tube for it to catch in mid-air, practicing a tradition that dates back to the Qing Dynasty, outside a stadium in Beijing, China, March 26, 2024.

A wutong bird catches beads in its beak outside a stadium in Beijing, March 26, 2024. Locals train birds of various types to perform different acts including catching beads shot out of a tube or opening boxes.

Xie Yufeng trains a bird using a whistle outside a stadium in Beijing, March 26, 2024.

Wutong birds rest between turns catching beads shot out of a tube in mid-air outside a stadium in Beijing, March 26, 2024.

A man looks over at a bird he keeps and trains to fly around him outside a stadium in Beijing, March 26, 2024.

A man throws a bird up as he shoots a bead through a tube for it to catch in mid-air outside a stadium in Beijing, March 26, 2024.

A man prepares to throw a bird up as he shoots a bead through a tube for it to catch in mid-air outside a stadium in Beijing, March 26, 2024.

A man smokes near Wutong birds waiting for their turn to catch beads outside a stadium in Beijing, March 26, 2024.