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A group of elderly people carrying bags stuffed with cosmetics, clothes and snacks flocked into the Chaoyang Museum of Urban Planning in Beijing one weekend morning in late January.
Mostly aged above 60, they wore radiant smiles.
After all, they were winners in the preliminary round of a modeling contest for the elderly in the city and had gathered at the museum for the finals later that day.
The contest is an annual group event that began in 2010.
That day, the backstage was quickly occupied by members of each team who had rehearsed their ramp walk earlier.
Zhang Jinglai, the leader of a team from Chaoyang district, demonstrated for her teammates how to walk with their shoulders held slightly back.
Wearing a pair of high heels and holding a radio, the 79-year-old asked her peers to walk to the beat of a song playing.
Zhang's team of more than 40 members was formed in 2005, and its members have since practiced modeling at their community service center twice a week.
She has always picked the themes of clothes and background music for her team at the contest.
Zhang once took to square dancing as a pastime after she retired from an engineering job in 1995.
As time went by, she found that age brought a gradual decline in her energy levels. And, square dancing seemed too energy-consuming for her, so she turned to fashion modeling.
"Ramp walks make us look more elegant, see?" Zhang said on the morning of the latest contest pointing to her slim teammates dressed in cheongsam.
"Though I'm approaching 80, I won't give up pursuing beauty," she added, with her eyes twinkling.
At the finals, the hall was crowded. Cameras clicked the many participants posing for photos on the red carpet.
Yu Changcheng, 69, came with his wife who was among the finalists and recorded her stunning moments in his camera.
Amateur models, mostly aged above 60, strut down the runway at a modeling contest in Beijing.
He took up photography as a hobby after retiring in 2009 and his wife joined a similar modeling team in Haidian district seven years ago.
"Walking the ramp is an effective exercise for my wife - she has become healthier in recent years," Yu said. "And, I like to be her photographer."
"Perfect match!" he added, laughing.
Yu has taken photos for other elderly people.
"The modeling activities provide us the chance to meet more people and make new friends," he said.
Hong Shutao, nearing 60, stood out in the crowd at the Chaoyang weekend contest due to his height of 180 centimeters and his orange shirt.
"Elderly women pay less to dress up, let alone an elderly man like me," Hong said, adding that although he was once a stylish young man, his approach to fashion changed over time.
Two years ago, his elder sister persuaded him to join a modeling team. Now he is one of its six male members.
"It has improved my taste in clothing and has given me a new state of mind, of course, a more positive one," Hong said.
Zhu Guifang, a retired teacher from Beihang University, was at the contest.
Her Beihang modeling team's clothes were made of recycled material - all by themselves. It took Zhu a week to make a dress, a necklace and a handbag from paper.
She said she used to make clothes when she was too poor to afford new ones earlier in her life. "Now I make clothes for fun."
The 83-year-old had to stand for more than five hours at the contest as sitting down might have damaged her dress.
"I feel a little tired but I am glad and excited to work with my teammates in such a group activity," Zhu said.
Chen Juanhong, 49, a famous Chinese model, was a judge for the finals.
She said she would encourage more elderly people to "show themselves off" onstage in the contest.
"It doesn't matter that the ramp is not a professional one and that the clothes are not fashionable enough. What really matters is the teamwork and positive attitude toward life," Chen said.
(CHINA NEWS)
