A documentary chronicling the culture of public square dancing, a favorite pastime of middle-aged and elderly Chinese women, has started filming in north China's Tianjin Municipality.

Middle-aged and elderly Chinese women perform square dancing. [File photo: IC]

The documentary will be split into 100 episodes and will be filmed over three years, according to director Cui Yongshi.

"The documentary will be about square dancing, and the film crew will go to 31 provincial regions in China to tell the stories of people who enjoy dancing," Cui said.

The documentary will use buildings in public squares as a backdrop to show the rapid development in Chinese cities, Cui said.

Square dancing has become a favorite activity among aging Chinese people, mostly women. But when these "dama" -- as the older women are called in China -- bust their moves in public, conflicts sometimes arise.

In 2014, residents in a district in eastern China's Zhejiang Province went toe-to-toe with a noisy group of square dancers by using loudspeakers to blast music and drown out the dancing women.