LOVERS of square dancing in Beijing may face penalties if their at-times noisy hobby disturbs local residents, according to a new regulation set to take effect March 1.

    The capital’s new rule comes after a number of Chinese cities have also regulated the dancers — setting designated venues, times and maximum volume of music — to standardize square dancing, a popular activity among middle-aged and elderly women, so named because it is often organized by groups in public squares, but also in parks, outside shopping malls and on sidewalks.

    The Beijing National Fitness Regulation, published on the website of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, states that people must organize fitness activities on the basis of not disturbing public order and they also should not prompt superstition and affect others. If these rules are not followed, the participants may fall foul of the law.

    The regulation was adopted at the Fifth Session of the 14th Municipal People’s Congress of Beijing in January.

    Governments of South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Shaanxi and Anhui provinces adopted regulations on square dancing in 2015, banning residents from dancing at certain times and regulating the music volume.

    China has nearly 100 million square dancers as of 2015, according to a report from Dafu Square Dancing Tablet PC Union. (Global Times)