Day and night across China, groups of middle-aged retirees, mostly women, gather together to dance in open space, like squares and parks. They are known as "guang chang wu da ma". Their love for square dancing has made them a national phenomenon (现象).
However, some people don't think highly of it. Their music is too loud, and they take up too much public space. Besides, they even dance at improper (not proper) places-such as the square in front of the Louvre in Paris, where Chinese tourists broke into a dance last year.
Even so, the dancers are growing in number and style. Li Dong, 46, is a pioneer in this field.
"In addition to keeling fit, square dancing has become so popular because older people who are free from work and from raising children want to be connected with one another. But I think that square dancing has a deeper meaning."
By teaching herself different dances, such as Latin, Tango and Cha-cha, Li adds variety (花样) to square dancing. "Although we are old, we are curious (好奇的) and want to try different dance style," she adds, "because square dancing has attracted so much attention, I want to take it seriously. "
As for people's objection (反对), Li says her team has taken the suggestion of turning down the volume (音量) and dancing at proper sites. "We are not a trouble at all."
