People dance at an open space in front of a building. (File photo/Chinanews.com)
(ECNS) -- Beijing has become the latest city to regulate popular but controversial square dancing as a new law takes effect next month.
The revised Beijing Regulation on Fitness says square dancers may face administrative punishment if their dancing is thought to disturb neighbors.
Individual or group activities should not disturb public order, advocate superstition or affect other people's work, studies or life, says the regulation.
In Chinese-style square dancing, participants, usually the elderly, gather at parks or plazas to dance to music blasted out of tinny speakers, which can be very loud. A range of conflicts have already arisen in many cities due to the noise and occasional competition between rival dancing groups.
Many cities have introduced rules governing the site, time and music volume to regulate square dancing as a form of public fitness exercise. The northwestern city of Xi'an implemented rules restricting noise from public sports or recreational activities in 2015.
Last September, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region banned playing music or using loudspeakers for dancing between 10 pm and 6 am in parks near residential buildings.
