Age just a number? Chinese elderly dance, play ping-pong and do callisthenics in parks Premium

Elderly in Beijing's Ritan Park engage in physical activities, social interactions, and dancing, highlighting the importance of active aging.

On a summer morning at Ritan Park in the heart of Beijing, an 80-year-old man, who has lost most of his front teeth, is pushing his own wheelchair and going from one equipment to another at the open gym, stretching himself and doing light exercises.

Another group of elderly people is playing with a diabolo, half of the ping-pong tables are taken over by grey-haired men and women, and multiple groups of people – mostly elderly women – are dancing in different parts of the park.

At one of the groups near the main gate, as the song changes to an upbeat one, a spectacled woman wearing a loose brown top and her grey hair tied into a bun, steps in and starts dancing with a man, who was till now dancing with someone else.

“I come here every day to dance, be it Saturday or Sunday. If I don’t come here, I will sleep at my house and I don’t feel good. Most of these people are like me,” said 73-year-old Hu Yulin, as she hummed and moved to the music, while watching her friends continued to dance.

Ms. Hu’s husband passed away three years ago and she lives alone, as her only daughter lives in the U.S. She wakes up at 6 a.m. every day and after having a breakfast, mostly of eggs and milk, she reaches the park by 9 a.m. and dances till 11 a.m. with her friends – she has been doing this for about 12 years now.

Across parks of Beijing, groups of elderly people can be seen ‘square dancing’, exercising, or playing different types of games. These groups need not only a space for physical activity, but also much-needed social interaction.

“Leisurely Physical Activity (LPA) such as dancing or exercising of elderly is going up across China. On the other hand, Work Related Physical activity (WPA) is going down,” said Lili Xie, a Professor at Center for Population and Development Studies in the Chinese government-run Renmin University.