ChinaUS EUROPEASIA 中文双语Français
Culture\Art

The Dancing Economy

By Zhang Kun in Shanghai | China Daily USA | Updated: 2017-05-26 11:26

One can find a wide range of dance styles being performed at the public areas in downtown Shanghai. For example, people dancing to ballroom styles such as the waltz and the cha-cha can be found at the crossing between Xiangyang Road and Huaihai Road, while a simpler marching-style dance is performed almost every evening at Xujiahui Park.

The dancers are predominantly middle-aged and elderly women who have redefined the meaning of square dancing, which originated in 16th century England and refers to a dance comprising eight dancers in a square. Here in China, square dancing generally means dancing as a means of exercise and is often accompanied by music played on a loudspeaker.

According to China Central Television's finance channel, more than 100 million people in the country have taken up dancing as their choice of exercise. This phenomenon has in turn been a boon to consumption.

Yang Renwen, an analyst with Founder Securities, estimated that people in China have spent over 50 billion yuan ($7.25 billion) on dancing-related products and activities.

The words "square dance" on China's largest e-commerce site Taobao.com generates more than 100 pages of search results. A typical bodysuit complete with a flare skirt is priced around 60 yuan. According to the sales figures displayed on the site, the outfit sells by the thousands every month.

Meanwhile, the best-selling portable loud-speaker on Taobao has garnered more than 19,000 reviews. The 12-inch hi-fi amplifier is priced between 279 to 579 yuan. The higher-end versions include accessories such as a wireless headset with microphones that allow the user to give her peers dance instructions.

BACK TO THE TOP
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US