In Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, and in many other Chinese cities, the raucous outdoor activities of older residents have ignited serious conflicts. Residents near parks often complain about the noise from amateur bands and dance groups, and brawls have broken out. City officials have been imposing noise limits and other regulations in People’s Park and others like it.

“For years, virtually every day, I’ve been disturbed by the racket from musical instruments, singing and disco dancing,” said one complaint about the park published on a city government website in 2014. “The People’s Park is just one big outdoor karaoke parlor,” said another online complaint.

Since last year, People’s Park has ordered bands and dance troupes to keep their noise level below 80 decibels. As Happy Runxin and Glad Tidings belted out song after song, nearby monitors showed the sound sometimes passing that level — reaching about as loud as standing near city traffic — but performers said momentary lapses were tolerated.

Still, the park is now much quieter than it was before, they said.

“Before it was chaotic,” said Deng Zixiao, 62, a retired doctor who has been going to the park to sing in choirs for eight years. “There was lots of fun, but there were also fights and complaints. We had to become more civilized.”