Women, mostly retirees, set up a dance troupe two years ago. They perform a lotus dance at Qishiguan Park in Dongcheng district in Beijing.

Why is square dancing so popular among retirees? According to Wang, the moves are simple, the music is energetic and it requires no equipment.

She credits dancing with improving her quality of sleep and losing weight. She also says her family is very supportive. "My husband comes with me and my daughter-in-law bought me exercise clothes," she says.

"It's becoming a national issue," says Hu Guozhen, 57, referring to the videos of middle-aged Chinese women dancing outside the Louvre in Paris and a group of elderly women dancing in a train from Lankao county to Zhengzhou city, Henan province, early in May. "I admire their passion for dancing," she says.

"I think they are crazy," says Wang Rong, 31, the daughter of Hu, who works for a State-owned company in Beijing. "I think it's a bit much. They shouldn't disturb others."

Her mother goes to dance in front of a square of a shopping mall near their house in Majiapu, Fengtai district, in Beijing, at 7:30 pm. Over two hours, along with 30 other people, she dances to 20 songs.

Besides improving their health, Hu says dancing keeps her integrated with society.

"My life was boring and isolated after retirement. I just spent my days cooking and cleaning the house. I made lots of friends through dancing. I'm glad to share my life with people my age," she says.

Since the neighborhood where Hu lives is densely populated, they try not to disturb others, trying to dance away from residential buildings and limiting the hours they dance.

"There were some neighbors complaining to us at the beginning and we stop dancing before gaokao (China's annual national college entrance exam in June) and reduce the sound of the music," says Hu.

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