In China’s ‘harmonious society’, people may be too frightened to speak freely, but they are certainly not afraid to dance, slap trees or don some high-camp fancy dress. These urban parks look like day-clubs for ageing ravers, whose youth was overshadowed by the violence and fear of the Cultural Revolution. Now they are getting some compensation, and – as long as you don’t speak ill of the Chinese Communist Party – pretty much anything goes. Self expression and catharsis squeeze through the cracks in a culture of long-en-grained obedience and fear.
