The national sports governing body aims to help square dancing shake off its dubious reputation by better regulating it as a mass exercise highlighted in the new five-year national fitness plan.

As China promotes mass fitness as a national strategy, it has made a priority of facilitating and managing all forms of exercise that appeal to the public in the National Fitness Program (2016-20), approved by the State Council on Thursday.

Chinese square dancing, known for older women dancing collectively outdoors to loud music, is one of the forms of exercise that should be promoted and guided, despite the debates it has sparked, said Liu Peng, head of the General Administration of Sport of China.