Location: Jian’ou, Fujian Province, China

When we were living in China, one of the greatest things we noticed were the different forms of exercise. Not having widespread affordable healthcare available to the entire population makes keeping one’s body fit (even into old age!) a huge priority. It was so admirable to see how active elderly people in our community were. They would do play ping pong, pool, or badminton. They would also wake up early to perform Tai Chi sequences on their roofs and climb mountains (often times backwards, as is the tradition in China). They would take advantage of the local terrain whenever possible- living in a mountainous region made it easier- and it was oftentimes a community effort. The best part was, they would always find new ways to make it fun.

One of our favorite things to do at night (mine, anyway) was to go to the square and see the ladies dance. Down the street from where we lived, there was a big open area, and-without fail- every night they would meet up, throw some tunes on, and kick out the jams. It was amazing to see so many older women having fun together, letting off steam and doing their own thing, even if it was a little silly sometimes.

Check them out!

As usual, it’s available in higher quality on Vimeo:

<3, K&V