Read at 3 different speeds

Dancing boosts ageing China - 1st September 2023

China's rapidly ageing population is placing increasing stress on society and on its fragile healthcare provision. Maintaining a high level of fitness amongst the older demographic has therefore emerged as a matter of some urgency.

Although tai chi and other forms of large-scale public exercise have always been a frequent sight in squares in urban areas, the most recent fashion to take the streets by storm is 'Happy Dancing'.

Concocted by Yu Jicheng, he's been stunned by the surge in popularity.

Yu Jicheng: "When I first started to do this exercise, I had no idea that these people would follow me. I created this set of broadcast exercises unconsciously. As the old Chinese saying goes, 'An untended willow grows and provides shade'. I never expected that so many people would join me. What could I do? I had no choice but to continue."

While Yu choreographed his first dance routines in 2008, he continues to instruct practitioners every day in his hometown, Jiamusi, close to the Russian border. For him, it's the particular moves which characterise the sequences that make Happy Dancing stand out from the crowd.

Yu Jicheng: "Other broadcast exercises don't include movements that exercise the shoulders and hips, see, but ours do. The movements can aid with the recovery of conditions like frozen shoulder, arthritis, and others. Look at me, I'm 73 years old this year. Don't I look healthy? This is not something money can buy."

73 year old Yu is an exemplary figure as he models the exercises, occasionally barking instructions at the participants, and his intention is to encourage Happy Dancers to keep with the beat until they hit the grand old age of 99, and thereafter still 'keep moving forward'.

Local convert Yingzi is in no doubt that her health has flourished since taking up Happy Dancing.

Yingzi: "I come here every day, and I have been doing this exercise for 14 years. Since I started this exercise, my health has really improved, and I feel very young."

Across China, as the craze gains traction, there's a growing expectation that the entire population might age gracefully and, of course, in time with the music.