National Games: retirees shine as square dancing steps onto China’s sporting stage

Hou Linghua’s Xian 36-strong troupe started in 2009 as the pastime took off in China

As one of 19 events added for games in Xian, the sport gives retirees a spring in their step but the pastime has been controversial

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Hou Linghua’s square dancing troupe of 60-somethings took second prize at the 14th National Games in Xian. Photo: Tom Wang

Published: 10:00am, 18 Sep 2021Updated: 3:11pm, 18 Sep 2021

As one of China’s army of grannies who dance en masse in public places, 60-year-old Hou Linghua never expected to become a competitor at the country’s top all-round sporting event.

It was even a bigger surprise that her 36-member dancing troupe, all around her age, won second prize at the National Games in northwest China’s ancient city of Xian.

“Because the games are held in our own city, and President Xi Jinping wants everyone to exercise and be fit, we are lucky enough to be chosen to take part in this event, which used to be meant for professional athletes only,” said Hou, a Xian resident.

Square dancing has been a decade-long hobby for Hou and her teammates. They first teamed up in 2009 when it started flourishing in China. But for many who do not pursue it, the pastime means noise and crowded public places.

It has long been criticised but has made its way into China’s “mini-Olympics”. The National Games are the highest-level national sporting event in the country, held every four years and upholding as the leadership’s vows to improve the population’s physical fitness to make China a strong sporting nation.

The games, which run until September 27, attract professional athletes for events typically seen in the Summer Olympics. But since the last National Games in Tianjin in 2017, square dancing and 18 other popular activities – including tai chi and dragon boat racing for amateurs – have been added to the schedule.

Representing their community of Dianchang in Xian’s Baqiao district, Hou’s troupe won second place in a competition of 18 troupes from across the country.

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