On March 24, the news conference for China's First Tourism & Wellness Square Dance Competition was held in Beijing. Representatives from the organizing committee members, including China Railway Travel Service Group, China Tourism Industry Alliance, China Good Dance Style, China Bohai Rim Tourism Federation, and Guangxi Western Tourism Alliance, attended this press conference ceremony.
Goose Spring View from Afar - Cen Chengliang
Guangxi’s western Baise boasts abundant tourism resources and enchanting scenery. To the north are clusters of sinkholes, and to the south are canyon groups—both are rare global wonders. The only UNESCO Global Geopark in Guangxi is located here. It features the world’s largest cluster of sinkholes, the naturally spanning Fairy Bridge, China’s largest red maple forest belt, the most beautiful and verdant canyon group along the China-Vietnam border, the world’s largest lotus-shaped rock basin, and the world’s largest ancient city of Zhuang ethnic culture, among other world-class wonders and a rich, colorful borderland ethnic culture.
Guangxi’s western Baise is a region inhabited by many ethnic minorities, including the Zhuang, Yao, Miao, Yi, Gelao, and Hui peoples. Its ethnic customs are authentic and pristine, making it a “living museum of ethnic minorities.” It is also a border area, sharing a 360.5-kilometer boundary with Vietnam of ASEAN countries, often referred to as “China’s most beautiful border.” A cross-border tourism route from Jingxi in Baise to Cao Bang in Vietnam has already been opened.
Guangxi’s western Baise is a world-renowned red revolutionary site. As early as 1929, senior proletarian revolutionaries such as Deng Xiaoping, Wei Baqun, and Zhang Yunyi successfully led and launched the historically significant Baise Uprising here. Baise is one of China’s 12 key red tourism areas and serves as an important base for revolutionary tradition education, studying Deng Xiaoping Theory, and understanding the ideas, progress, and history of reform and opening up.
Background and Purpose of the Competition
President Xi Jinping’s vision of the Chinese Dream outlines a magnificent blueprint for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It has gained unanimous support across the country and become the strongest voice of the era. We are fortunate to live in this great time. The intelligent and creative Chinese people have initiated square dancing as a unique cultural lifestyle, showcasing the spirit of the Chinese people to the world.
Square dancing has now become the most popular cultural lifestyle among the public. From cities, factories, government offices, and schools to rural areas, people are dancing everywhere. The age and gender composition of participants has also been quietly changing—people of all ages and genders are widely joining in. Square dancing is no longer synonymous with just the “auntie” crowd. The participant base is becoming increasingly diverse, including not only ordinary citizens but also university professors, government officials, teachers, and others who have joined the square dance movement. People are making friends through dance, building harmony, and fully embodying an upbeat and supportive spirit. According to statistics, the number of people participating in square dancing nationwide has exceeded 300 million, and the growth rate is astonishing, with projections to surpass 500 million within the next year or two. Square dancing has become a culture, a trend, and a major movement.
Leisure, wellness, and vacation tourism have become the new normal and the theme of future tourism development. With frequent occurrences of environmental issues such as sandstorms and smog that severely impact ecological conditions and threaten public health, there is a growing and clear demand for leaving urban areas and engaging in wellness-oriented leisure vacation tourism in places with superior environments. Wellness tourism has become one of the most desired forms of travel, forming a new trend that is shaping the future direction of China’s tourism industry. Baise, with its air quality, excellent water environment, and pristine local ingredients, is one of the most suitable destinations for leisure and wellness—this is why the organizing committee chose Baise as the location for the first edition.
With the advancement of the times and continuous improvement in living standards, people’s expectations for life are growing. They are no longer satisfied with monotonous, superficial, and unfulfilling lifestyles. A healthy and wellness-oriented way of life, along with a superior ecological environment, has become a common pursuit. President Xi emphasized that “the public’s demand for clean air, clear water, and a pristine environment is becoming more urgent, and the value of the ecological environment is increasingly precious.” In response to these trends and public needs, the beloved activity of square dancing is being organically combined with the desired wellness tourism. This creatively organized “China’s First Tourism & Wellness Square Dance Competition” is tasteful, down-to-earth, and positive, aiming to create “a cultural feast for travelers and a wellness tourism experience for dancers.”
Competition Participation Rules
Eligibility: All individuals who love square dancing may sign up to participate. Since the competition will be held along the “Magical Western Guangxi · China’s First World-Class Wellness Tourism Route,” participation must be organized in a planned manner through local travel agencies.
Performance Format: This square dance competition imposes no restrictions on music or dance styles, encourages innovation, and allows for flexible and diverse forms of performance.
Competition Schedule: The event will be held from April to December 2015, divided into nine seasons and one year-end grand final. Each season lasts one month. Each season will award one first prize (100,000 RMB), two second prizes (20,000 RMB each), six third prizes (5,000 RMB each), and ten honorable mentions (3,000 RMB each). The first-place teams from each season qualify for the year-end finals, where the annual champion (300,000 RMB) and two runners-up (100,000 RMB each) will be selected.
Judging Method: Judging will be conducted through a fair and transparent online voting process. First, competing teams perform at designated scenic spots chosen by the organizing committee, where videos are filmed uniformly and uploaded to the online voting section for public voting. Second, teams may choose their own scenic spots along the tour route, film their performances independently, and submit the videos to the organizing committee for uploading to the online voting section. Each team’s voting period lasts 20 days from the time the video is uploaded. After this period, the online voting system will close automatically to ensure fairness. The winning teams will be determined based on the number of online clicks.