This spectacular footage shows students in military training having a dance break in an open courtyard after a full day of military workout.
Phone footage shows hundreds of uniformed trainees chanting along folklore music and performing a traditional Chinese dance in Kunming, in south-western China’s Yunnan Province.
The clip gained more than 38,000 likes and over 16,000 shares on Douyin – China’s version of TikTok – where it was shared with the caption: “From dawn to dusk, the formal military training has come to an end, blending hard work with leisure, seriousness with liveliness.
“Finally, let’s all come together to dance.”
Many netizens praised the fun contrast of nighttime dancing against a day of hard training, with some suggesting it should be a nationwide practice.
One user titled ‘Fly 7’ commented: “A combination of work and rest is the best. Training during the day is already very tiring, so in the evenings everyone should relax, most military training is like this.”
Another user titled ‘632437015676’ said: “If the youth is strong, the country will be strong.”
And user ‘I love little fairies’ wrote: “This folk dance is beautiful.”
Although military service is technically mandatory in China, the country has not implemented conscription in over 70 years due to the large number of volunteers.
Local governments have recruitment quotas and many young citizens who register after the quotas are met become reserves.
The reserves are required to attend short, periodic training sessions before age 22 and are no longer liable for service past that age.
