Belly dancing has become a new fashion among boys in the southwestern China's metropolis of Chongqing, as a means of body maintenance, especially when developing a flat stomach.

Young men practice belly dance under the guidance of a trainer in a fitness club in Chongqing, a city in southwestern China, on December 24, 2007. (photo: China Photo Press)

Belly dance, usually performed by girls, is based on one of the oldest social dances in world history, native to North Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Young men practice belly dance under the guidance of a trainer in a fitness club in Chongqing, a city in southwestern China, on December 24, 2007.

It consists of movements initiated by the feet and executed throughout the body. The focus of the dance is the pelvic area. It is, fundamentally, a solo improvisational dance with its own unique dance vocabulary integrated with the music's rhythm.

Young men practice belly dance under the guidance of a trainer in a fitness club in Chongqing, a city in southwestern China, on December 24, 2007.

(CRI January 2, 2008)