Square dancing to feature ahead of Beijing 2022 opening ceremony, says director

The square dancers consist of children, pupils, middle school and college students, adults and also the elderly, most of which come from Beijing and north China's Hebei Province. Ordinary people of various age groups can show themselves on this international stage, celebrating the Olympics as well as the Chinese New Year.

Meng Yan, director of the warm-up performance, said the square dancing before the opening ceremony aims to show the passion and hospitality of Chinese people joining together for a shared future.

In line with Beijing's efforts to stage a "simple, safe and splendid" Games, there will not be large-scale performance that stretch for a long time. The number of performers is cut from about 15,000 in 2008 to 3,000, with length shortened to about 100 minutes due to cold weather and the COVID-19 pandemic, Zhang said.

Zhang and his team have been preparing for the opening ceremony together with the performers over the past two and a half years.