It seems like there’s no stopping Chinese line dancing, otherwise known as “granny” or “auntie dancing”. Despite the controversy it raises from being a public nuisance, it only seems to grow in size. And now they have their latest convert: French superstar Sophie Marceau.

As the People’s Daily Online reported, Marceau was seen March 19 at the square in front of Guangzhou Tianhe Sports Center “following Chinese people to practice square dancing”. And yet, while it may be fair enough to assume Marceau wanted to enjoy the best of Chinese culture, it turned out that she was the one leading the Chinese dancers.

For weeks, shoe company Villebois France had been promoting a Guangzhou event at which Marceau would attend. Participants were encouraged to learn a dance routine performed along to the music of “Girls from Snow Mountain”. Last Saturday, Marceau arrived to meet fans and lead them in the dance routine.

And although it took place in a public square, the choreographed routine wasn’t the “square dancing” that most Chinese are familiar with. As seen below, the routine involved dance movements not normally performed by middle-aged and elderly women in China.

Then again, that could be due to Sophie Marceau’s influence. Widely referred to as a “goddess”, many Chinese fans describe her as “elegant and graceful”. One fan posted to Weibo after attending the event saying, “By seeing France’s most beautiful woman, this 50 year-old who is still so elegant, I have come to the realization that no matter what your age is, you can still retain the heart of a little girl!”

As the embodiment of “elegance”, Marceau seems to be the perfect spokesperson for Villebois since it sells “ballerina” casual wear shoes targeted towards a Chinese market. And if the grace of  this generation’s Audrey Hepburn-styled “classic beauty” isn’t enough to convince Chinese consumers, the Marceau-designed Villebois shoe “One Night in Beijing” caters to nationalistic impulses for embodying “all aspects showing her regard towards China”.

Is Marceau actually “square dancing” as reported by the People’s Daily? Has Marceau become a “dancing granny” herself? In the end, it may not matter that China gains the honor of such a high-profile convert such as Marceau as long as she gets her own message across.

See for yourself. Here’s some video of Marceau dancing among the crowd:

Marceau has appeared before in China, both at high-profile and promotional events. Marceau sang “La Vie en Rose” at the 2014 Spring Festival Gala before a televised audience of millions of viewers. At around the same time, Marceau could be seen in Chinese car commercials for DS Spirit.

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In less than a decade, it has drastically evolved. In fact, an unidentified bar in Shenyang, Liaoning distanced itself from the shopping and romance by providing a writhing dancer in a bikini for its patrons to freely pour beer upon.

Maybe it’s slowly becoming China’s version of the popular US “Spring Break”?

“Dancing in a wading pool covered in beer” isn’t normally a popular activity in China, a country known for its conservative attitudes towards sexuality, and was not well-received by netizens online. One person said, “Vulgarity without limits.” Another person wrote, “Despicable. This isn’t a promotion for a (bar), this is flat-out prostitution! People nowadays really have no restraints holding them back.”

Yet another person took the opportunity to point out: “I can see a police car outside the window (in the last picture).”

With this latest salvo shot in the War on Singles’ Day, who can say if November 11 will become the future date for wet T-shirt competitions and beer bong consumption in what will potentially be China’s own Spring Break festival.

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A recent traffic accident completely blocked all lanes of the Chuda highway in Yunnan from Kunming to Dali. Left with nothing to do but wait, drivers and passengers got out of their vehicles and began to walk around the highway. Some took the delay as an opportunity to sell food to hungry motorists, while others found an open space and began to bust a move.

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So when a car was rudely parked on their ‘dance floor’ in the city of Xinyang, Henan Province, the dancing grannies didn’t want to dance around it. Instead, they decided the car had to go.

And so, under the steely direction of the dancing grannies, a dozen or so people pushed this parked car a total of four to five meters, reports Sina News Video.

READ: Beijing Dancing Grannies Wield AK47s in Anti-Japanese Performance

Mr Guo, the owner of the car, took it all in stride. He accepted the blame and said he was careless parking where he did.

Related:

• Guangzhou to Crackdown on Noisy Public Dance Sessions
• “Long-Legged Foreign Babe” Takes Lesson from “Dancing “Granny”
• Armed Police to Keep Gaokao Examinations Quiet from Dancing Grannies

Photo: Sina News Video

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Youtube user “Had Enough?” has a comedy channel where he recently published the following video. In it, he miraculously puts on pants without using his hands:

We’ve seen GIFs of “Had Enough?”‘s exceptional ability, but the real appreciation comes with the epic background accompaniment of Final Countdown as he stretches his hands in preparation.

While we stare slack-jawed in amazement at the 1% who put their pants on both legs at a time, we should keep in mind that this video is a challenge to everyone who watches it. The title at the beginning reads:

The Highest Level of Competition Between Rivals
in “The Putting on of the Pants”

Also used as the title for the movie The Prestige, “The Highest Level of Competition Between Rivals” is a series of Youtube shorts in which “Had Enough?” completes silly feats, and then issues a challenge, seen here at the end of the video.

Putting on pants without using hands: can you?

Upon success, “Had Enough?” adopts a kung-fu pose as Final Countdown starts up again. At this point, pixelated sunglasses that float down from above seems so millennial.

Related:

• Watch This: The “Kiss Stir Fry”, Your Chinese Internet Meme of the Day
• Media Backlash Against “Flip Kiss” Means More Fail to Enjoy
• Chinese Meme “No Zuo No Die” Laughs in the Face of Reason
• Defend Your Homeland by Using Your Leg as a Gun

Photos: screenshots from Youtube

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Crackdowns on granny dancing aren’t anything new, but a stalwart troupe of granny dancers in Beijing may be looking to evade any criticism by changing the way they dance. This group has moved away from traditional fan dances and scarf waving seen in plazas around the country, instead turning to that other cultural institution: bashing the Japanese.

A group of dancers was recently seen performing near the Raffle City shopping mall in Dongzhimen, Beijing. There, granny dancers armed with toy AK-47s danced in formation and waved their replica firearms in the air in an activity described as “killing bastards”.

A man carrying a gun and wearing the hat of a 1940s Japanese imperialist soldier served as the focal point for the dancers. According to 163, the man reportedly wore a T-shirt that said “Jap bastard”. As part of the performance, the man dutifully raised his weapon and surrendered.

We can only suppose the off-Broadway dinner theater musical Nanjing! Nanjing! will open next.

Related:

• “Long-Legged Foreign Babe” Takes Lesson from “Dancing Auntie”
• Armed Police to Keep Foshan Gaokao Examinations Quiet from Dancing Aunties

Photos: 163

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Guangzhou is trying to get rid of it, Sydney wants it, and now Moscow has it: China’s infamous “dancing grannies”.

Online pictures of a group of Chinese people dancing in Moscow’s Red Square have been compared to similar photos taken at the Louvre in Paris, where the culture of dancing grannies was first seen outside of China. However, in Red Square, China’s ubiquitous line dancing attracted the attention of local police.

As proud as these dancers are, they are primarily known in China for disturbing residents. Sometimes, police say they even cross into illegal behaviour. For instance, authorities in Inner Mongolia arrested 15 people who they claim used public dancing sessions covertly to enroll people into a cult.

We don’t think the grannies in Moscow were plotting anything illegal, but have a look for yourself.

Related:

• Armed Police to Keep Foshan Gaokao Exams Quiet From Dancing Grannies
• Mayor of Sydney Interested in Importing China’s “Granny Dancing”
• Guangzhou to Crack Down on Noisy Public Dance Sessions

Photos: Ynet

h/t @MissXQ

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Along with providing the usual answers of a) “I’m not from around here, but abroad,” b) “Yes, I can use chopsticks,” and c) “Really,” there’s something else you can do to make your hosts feel more at home: by giving them affirmation.

There aren’t many details to this video as seen on Sina Eyewitness that was apparently taken on a Huangshan Street in  Anhui Province. You may just see a local resident teaching a dance to a foreign woman, described here as a “long-legged babe”, but others may see it much more as an affirmation:

So. Never mind that the Chinese woman in the video is dancing the infamous “public plaza line dance”, a type of group dance that middle-aged women flock to perform in public spaces located in residential neighborhoods across China in which they are accompanied by loud music. Never mind that the rise of the “dancing auntie” is a cultural phenomenon that pits the power of a vocal throng against residents who can’t stand it.

And, never mind that an overwhelming majority of Chinese citizens react vehemently against “dancing aunties” and reacted with sarcasm when the mayor of Sydney suggested she import this culture back to Australia. Never mind that chengguan in Beijing were not able to stop dancing aunties from disturbing students leading up to the gaokao examinations, and perhaps as a result, gaokao examinations will be patrolled by armed police in Foshan and Shenzhen schools will enforce a noise ban in its own general areas.

No, none of that matters, because no matter which side of the dancing grannies you’re on, the foreigner is on the opposite side of the dancing auntie itself. So that means that a foreigner that supports any Chinese culture, good or bad or dancing auntie, is by all accounts supporting China.

That does seem a bit reaching, especially for a short video about two people dancing. After all, is there any revealing statement that shows us this affirmation?

Sure there is. Though it lacks any other details about this incident, Sina Eyewitness posted this text at the end of the post:

Netizens have cried out that the dance moves of the auntie has overwhelmed the foreigner babe. Our “public plaza line dance” has now become internationalized!

Affirmed.

Photo: Sina Eyewitness via Weibo

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The Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, visited Guangzhou with this purpose in mind in advance of the 30th anniversary of the two cities’ friendship in 2016. Amazed at the sight of dynamic dancing Moore saw at Huadu square in Guangzhou, the mayor vowed to import “auntie square dancing” back to Sydney, Guangzhou Daily reported on May 26.

Moore said square dancing in Guangzhou is a way to invigorate urban residents and their communities, adding that Sydney has the public space to accommodate dancing groups in its neighbourhoods.

Dancing grannies seen at Louvre in Paris. Photo credit: weibo

Moore’s comments seemed friendly, but perhaps her staff had failed to brief her on the problems brought by the increasing tension between dancing grannies and annoyed residents across China. Her comments quickly drew netizens’ attention with many flooding the comment section with the words “Do not regret.” The tension between dancing grannies and residents annoyed by their actions have become so intense that the magazine World of Chinese calls it “a national issue”. 

Armed with rowdy music (often called shenqu 神曲 in Chinese) and portable sound systems, the country’s 100 million-strong middle aged and retired women have found themselves at a flashpoint of China’s urbanisation as the country grapples with increasingly crowded communities and their confined public space.

One Weibo user wrote: “Please take away all the 300 million dancing grannies to live their lives in Australia’s dancing plazas!” Another commented: “Please also take away the ones in Shanghai! Grant them technocrat immigrant status.” Still another warned that by the time that happens in Australia, Moore probably won’t be the mayor anymore.

Mrs Xiong, one of the victims of excrement bombs. Photo credit:39yst.com

Fed up with the noise from the dancing, many residents across the country launched a slew of conventional and some extreme attacks towards the dancing groups such as making verbal insults and threats or hurling paint and smelly tofu. Sometimes, they may go to extremes—using excremement bombs of human feces and unleashing dogs.

One of the latest counter-attacks launched towards the grannies was from 600 residents in Wenzhou, who bought an RMB 260,000 “treble cannon” that emits a loud and ear-splitting sound to scare away the dancing groups who had been occupying the square from 6am to 10pm every day, CRI reported in March.

We fear that soon the dancing grannies will have occupied Sydney’s opera house, and then it will be too late.

Home page image: Guangming

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The Korean pop star Rain performed a solo concert called “2014 Rain Effect Show In Guangszhou” on Saturday in which many of his top hits were performed including “It’s Raining“.

We weren’t there at the concert, but we would imagine the show began by igniting the expectations of an audience ready to wield their glowsticks. An announcer boomed into a microphone, “Are you ready, people? Are you ready for Rain?” After the audience signaled its compliance, Rain would finally appear from behind a dark shroud, showering his fans with love—meaning, of course, his abs.

Fans expressed their enthusiasm for Rain after the show, noting that his Putonghua had markedly improved. It was apparently much better than when Rain appeared on a Chinese variety show when he spoke none.

But what will Guangzhou do after this? It’s been three years since Rain was last here, and now with nothing scheduled for the foreseeable future, Guangzhou will face a veritable drought.

We love Rain as much as any screaming teenage K-pop idol worshiper (hello, Ninja Assassin!), but we have to say that we’ve had enough rain for now, please come back another day.

Photos: cloudusa.wordpress, Weibo (2, 3, 4)

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