In China, ballroom dancing seldom happens in ballrooms. Every evening dancers make use of any open ground: squares, parks, the outsides of banks or supermarkets, and even sidewalks. No-one minds if you join in.

The dances themselves are different from Western ones and some are named after cities, where they were invented: the Guangzhou cha-cha, the Nanjing sailor’s dance, and the Tianjin jitterbug.

But mostly the dances are just named for their rhythm: the fast three (快三 kuài sān), the moderate three (中三 zhōng sān), the slow four (慢四 màn sì) and the just four (平四 píng sì). They are danced to popular old Chinese songs like The Military Harbor’s Night or to ethnic music.