Cheek to cheek Men and women dancing in the ballroom style used to remain about a fist-width apart, says Mrs. Wu. Body contact among the sexes in the past was not quite acceptable. But we aren't so formal today, we just want to relax and enjoy ourselves. At this park, many participants come alone and switch partners after every song. Women often dance with women - due to what seems a universal problem of a dearth of male participants.
Dancers sometimes swap phone numbers and addresses.
But partly due to a sense of Chinese decorum, the denizens of Ritan usually do not see each other outside the park. Dance partner friends tend to be a discreet circle that rarely extends to the family, or fellow employees. Actually, the ballroom dance craze is just part of an overall emphasis on health and exercise that is found in urban areas across Asia. For the first time, private gyms and health clubs have started in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, where the younger, moneyed set in the new China go after work. The morning culture of diversity in exercise is being encouraged by the Chinese government.