At the age of 61, Sun Fengqin has taken up a hobby more commonly seen in nightclubs than retiree homes. The sexagenarian says she wants to inspire others in their twilight years to try something new. Tiffany Tan reports.

Many grandmothers spend their days cooking, grocery shopping or watching their grandkids but Sun Fengqin is more focused on perfecting her dance routine. At 61, the grandmother of two is busy preparing for her second national pole dancing competition. Despite a spinal injury - which required two metal pins to be inserted into her spine - Sun took up pole dancing last spring. The retired office worker says she was drawn by the dance's vigor and sexy moves, which she first saw in a video online.

A couple of months after starting classes in her home city of Nanjing, Jiangsu province, Sun made international headlines and is described by some as China's oldest pole dancer. She has since become known as "Pole Dancing Granny".

In a fast-aging Chinese society, Sun says she wants to become a model of vitality to other senior citizens. Pole dancing, she says, has actually alleviated the pain in her spine and brought her joy.

"If elderly people just take care of their grandchildren and children and do housework, like they did before retirement, they can never experience the world outside their families," she says.

"If we don't get a chance to enjoy in our old age something we didn't enjoy in our youth, then life doesn't hold much meaning. Life should be rich and colorful."

Sun's outlook has inspired women, like 38-year-old Yan Xiaopei, to take up pole dancing even though she is up to two decades older than most of her classmates. "When I discussed the plan with my husband, his first reaction was, 'Will you still be able to learn that at your age?'

"But when I read about 'Pole Dancing Granny' online, I became even more convinced of coming to Beijing to learn pole dancing," the mother of three from Ganyu county, Jiangsu province, says during a break from class at Lolan Pole Dancing School in the Chinese capital.

Though over the past several years pole dancing has grown as a form of exercise in China - catching on even in lower-tiered cities - many still associate it with sleazy nightclubs. And when you add into the equation a stereotype-defying sexagenarian who dyes her hair copper, dons body-hugging clothes and knee-high leather high-heeled boots, you will prompt strong reactions from the public.

"Everybody has freedom," says a netizen from Hunan province. "As long as you don't hurt others or break the law, go ahead and do what you wish!"

Others were not as complimentary of Sun. "Stepping into the entertainment industry at such an age, what a scene!" says a Beijing netizen.

"My eyes currently bleeding. Send help," was one comment on foreign social media, next to a link to a video of Sun pole dancing.

The retiree has learned to deal with negative comments. Her 62-year-old husband Cui Lianhua stands by her new hobby, but one of her two sons and an old friend have criticized her for taking on an "indecent" pastime. Sun says such people "don't really understand" pole dancing.

Andrew Delo, an American instructor at Peking University's Institute of World Theater and Film, says pole dancing has become popular among ordinary folks because it combines a vigorous workout with the joy of a dance that is relatively easy to learn.

"You'll start with a warm-up, where you'll do a little bit of aerobics then you get on the pole. Before you've left, you've flung around a couple of times," says Delo, who also teaches at a Beijing pole dancing school. "You don't have to wait 10 years to get your pair of toe shoes and your tutu."

It also taps into a person's sensuality, an added attraction for older women.

"For people who are 30, 40, 50, maybe it's been a long time since somebody told them they're sexy or they're pretty," he says, "so you put yourself on a pole and you feel that way."

Unknown to many, in the city of Chengdu is a pole dancing enthusiast even older than Sun. Huang Xianfu, 67, discovered pole dancing on TV last October and has since been practicing four to five hours a day on a pole in his neighborhood.

"I want to make myself stronger by pole dancing," Huang, a grandfather of two who suffers from neck arthritis and an injured right kneecap, says. "Movements on the pole have helped energy circulate in my body My neck is also better and I can bend my right leg."

A former farmer and restaurant owner who now depends on his cab driver son for financial support, Huang has no money for pole dancing lessons. So he relies on memory to repeat the routines he has seen on TV.

His biggest dream is to appear on Star Way, a popular talent show on Chinese TV, as well as perform on CCTV's Spring Festival Gala, the mainland's most-watched television show each year. Huang says he is not looking for fame but merely wants to "show people how enterprising an old man can be".

Unlike Sun, he hasn't had any criticism of his hobby. His wife Fan Xiufang, 60, says Huang's family and friends are proud of his talent on the pole.

Last August, Sun competed in the 6th China Pole Dance Championships held in Beijing. Because of the unprecedented participation of someone her age, the organizers decided to debut a category for seniors, where Sun went unchallenged and took home the gold.

This year, who knows if Huang might decide to give Sun some competition. Life after retirement can throw up some surprises.

Huang Zhiling in Chengdu contributed to the story.

Contact the writer at tiffany@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily USA 05/30/2013 page9)