Recently, there is a new group stirring up controversy in Chongqing: middle-aged and retired city dwellers dancing together in parks and squares.

The dances take place in venues ranging from parks and public squares to parking lots. They take a variety of forms, from traditional folk dances involving silk fans and drumming to modern ones.

Residents in nearby buildings say the noise makes relaxing after work hard and, worse, disturbs their children's studies. Participants say the dancing keeps them active and healthy.

Efforts to regulate public dancing are under way in Guanyinqiao Business District to quell the outcry from apartment-dwellers, wireless headsets are distributed to every dancer to prevent them playing music loudly.