Women in face masks, undaunted, dancing through the smog. (Image found at https://www.pinterest.com/pin/14636767510958867/)

Women in face masks, undaunted, dancing through the smog. (Image found at https://www.pinterest.com/pin/14636767510958867/)

While Korea may be the break dancing capital of Asia, if not the world, the people of China also have dancing fever.

I didn’t know a thing about dancing in China before I saw the country firsthand; I just happened to skip over “Chinese dance” in all my Wikipedia searches. While in China, it never would have occurred to me to look for it, but dancing was everywhere. Dancing ladies were everywhere. They could be found in every park- on my campus, throughout every city I visited- arranged in an informal rank and file grid. One woman would lead from the front, playing dance songs from a portable stereo and demonstrating the dance as the lines of older ladies behind her struggled a half-beat behind to match her moves. They listened to anything with an active beat, so there were bouncy techno songs as well as easy-listening pop songs, even songs that sounded like Chinese opera overlaid with a beat that could support choreography. The dances were all free-flowing line dances where the women would step back and forth, swing their arms, and twirl. Nothing too agile or challenging.

Like clockwork, the dancing ladies could be depended on to be at the park at the same time every morning or evening. In the evenings, the largest dancing groups would gather after sunset in the plazas near the largest parks and shopping districts. Upwards of a hundred women would form their lines and move to the beat (or lag slightly behind it) as a semi-disciplined square. It was clear that some of the women near the front of the group had put in their practice hours and could hit their marks. Most, though, were playing catch-up as they rehearsed, trying to commit the dance moves to memory as they stomped in a circle and craned their necks to watch the leader from over their shoulders. I didn’t fault them for it. I admired the group spirit and the regular, dutiful exercise habit.

The dancing groups had found a way to come together for daily activity and social interaction. They were diligent, yet informal groups. They didn’t require a gym membership and no one had to register for a class or sign a waiver, as they would be expected to do in America. And yet it was organized, it was not like a game of pick-up basketball or football which lacked cohesion and broke up over a rules dispute or because of flagging participation by the players. The dancing groups became a happy, everyday sight for me, and after a while I found the familiar dance songs repeating in my head. What a wonderful thing, I thought, if only Americans would refuse to commute home by car to sit alone in front of screens and instead join up to learn to dance or exercise together.

Here are some photos of people doing kung fu and exercising in the park. Their presence was an everyday sight.

Cross beams could be found in every park. Mostly older folks would come stretch their leg up on one and hold a ballet stretch for several minutes. I saw a couple small old ladies who could stretch their foot up on a beam higher than their head.

Cross beams could be found in every park. Mostly older folks would come stretch their leg up on one and hold a ballet stretch for several minutes. I saw a couple small old ladies who could stretch their foot up on a beam higher than their head.

Outdoor badminton and basketball courts were common, as were outdoor ping-pong tables.

Outdoor badminton and basketball courts were very common, as were outdoor ping-pong tables.

You could always find men performing impressive feats of strength or acrobatics. They don't walk around with bodybuilder muscles, but you never knew which old man in China had surprising strength.

You could always find men performing impressive feats of strength or acrobatics. They don’t walk around with bodybuilder muscles, but you never knew which old man in China had surprising strength.

This man is doing some kind of kung fu routine.

This man is doing some kind of kung fu routine.

Crowds like this were very common. The city had a few modern indoor gyms, but most people were used to neighborhood outdoor facilities.

Crowds like this were very common. The city had a few modern indoor gyms, but most people were used to neighborhood outdoor facilities.

Plenty of other activities happened at the parks, too. Old men would bike their birds out for some fresh air exhibition, kids and adults would fly kites year round, at night there was sometimes outdoor karaoke, and there might be weekly outdoor flea markets on the plaza spaces.

Plenty of other activities happened at the parks, too. Old men would bike their birds out for some fresh air exhibition, kids and adults would fly kites year round, at night there was sometimes outdoor karaoke, and there might be weekly outdoor flea markets on the plaza spaces.

Probably the roughest living I saw in China were these houseboats on the riverside park.

Probably the roughest living I saw in China were these houseboats on the riverside park. Good balance required to navigate those gangplanks.

I'm not sure, but the geese might have belonged to the house boat people. There were some shoddy old farm houses in the park itself, and the geese also could have belonged to those people.

I’m not sure, but the geese might have belonged to the house boat people. There were some shoddy old farm houses in the park itself, and the geese also could have belonged to those people.