A Beijinger recently fired a shotgun into the air and set three Tibetan mastiffs onto a dancing crowd in a nearby square away. The 56-year-old surnamed Shi said that he couldn't bear the noise any more.

The case sounds a bit extreme, but it vividly reflects the frustration of many residents in China in their confrontation with public dancing. Not long ago, residents in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, poured excrement on people dancing in a square.

Public dancing is also known in China as "guangchang wu," or "square dancing," after the place the dancers meet. Public dancing, usually consisting of a few dozen dancers, is tremendously popular among the middle-aged and older people, mostly women.

Many residents grumble about public dancing and in particular the loud music, which can be obnoxious and objectionable. After being exhausted after a long day, no one wants another couple of hours of noise.

So the conflict is clear cut: On the one hand you have the dancing crowd who enjoy the daily fun, and on the other hand you have frustrated residents annoyed with the throbbing music. One person's honey is another one's poison. As a result, altercations often break out.

What can we do to quell the seemingly trivial but growing dispute? In developed countries, there is often a zero tolerance policy toward noises in public venues. A group of dancers were arrested in New York a few weeks ago on public nuisance charges.

But that policy doesn't seem to fit our situation. There is no Chinese law or regulation prohibiting elderly people from dancing in public.

And, it's a lifestyle issue, as many dancers see the event as an important part of their nightlife.

A blanket ban on square dancing would affect as many as 100 million people - the estimated number of participants in public dancing in China, which leaves no government agency with any appetite to follow the practice of developed countries.

For many retirees, especially those whose only children work far away in different cities, joining a group of people gives them a sense of belonging, a means to dispel the loneliness, and a chance for physical exercise.

Having said that, the residents who suffer from noise pollution do deserve support as well as sympathy. Unfortunately, no government agency seems well equipped to offer a hand in that respect. The environment bureau is responsible for noise created by construction or industrial production, not tapping grannies, the police are restrained by the fact that public dancing is not against the law, and the community management office can try to mediate but can do little beyond that.

The only feasible solution appears to be a compromise. Dancing grannies need to limit the hours of their group activities and the volume of the speakers may be turned down. The irate residents may be encouraged to be more considerate and respect the elderly's rights and freedoms. Assuming that our own mothers also dance in that group, what else can we do?

Shi, who resorted to a shotgun to vent his anger, was detained and tried for the illegal possession of weapons. The fact that he was not charged for firing to scare away the dancers shows just how tricky the dispute over public dancing is.

Communities are there to serve all the residents and we have to take care of the interests of everyone.

Xu Qinduo, a commentator on current affairs with China Radio International