https://english.news.cn/20251028/f29caee044e0485c90c86ee59914594d/c.html

China’s population aged 60 and above reached 310 million by the end of last year.

Known as 广场舞 ‘guangchang wu’ in Chinese, square dancing is a group open-air exercise set to music. Participants are mostly middle-aged or retired, and it is especially popular among women.

It is difficult to gauge the exact number of people who take part in square dancing across China, but during interviews Xinhua has conducted across various provinces, multiple organizers said they believe about 10 percent of locals are involved. Applied nationwide, that could suggest roughly 100 million square dancers. The popularity of square dancing reflects changes in people’s lifestyles. “With the constant improvement of people’s livelihoods, they are now free from worries about food and clothing. Their main concern now is their physical and mental health, and dance is a way to boost both.”

Meanwhile, square dances are increasingly incorporating elements of professional dance, local opera and folk music. At the national square dancing competition last year, dancers from south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region took the silver medal with a dance adapted from a traditional folk song of the local Zhuang ethnic group. It was choreographed by a teacher from Guangxi University, and the costumes were made using the Zhuang brocade technique, which is recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage.