Dancers get in step to build a community

New world record

On Nov 18, Kong and 11 other dancers representing Anhui province took part in the world's biggest line dance, as 25,703 dancers set a new Guinness World Record in Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang province. "We are very proud to have participated and to be have been part of the record," she said. "The whole process, from online interviews to the final show, took about five months and cost more than 20,000 yuan, which I paid."

As a Buddhist, Kong ran an incense workshop for more than nine years before her community was relocated, and was the first female employer in her village.

"I have to confess that the manufacture of incense is not very environmentally friendly, so as urbanization progressed, we had to abandon the business," she said, adding that soaring land prices also played a part in ending the business.

Although the square dancing craze has become hugely popular in China, critics have complained that the activity is antisocial because of the loud music and the large numbers of people that congregate in public places. Kong said she is always looking for ways to minimize disruption and avoid disputes with her non-dancing neighbors.

"As long as we don't disturb the other residents, we'll keep on dancing and enjoying our lives," she said.