Nineteen-year-old rookie Song Xueqing has not fully explained the job to her family. Her parents live down south and have yet to see her perform.
"I just told them that I joined the Soojin Dance team, I said, why don't you take a look online," said Song, grinning. "They looked, and my grandma, who's really old-fashioned, said, `Look at those girls wearing outfits with their bellies showing!'"
"And so I didn't say anything. If my grandma saw the clothes I was wearing, she'd go crazy!" she said.
Three hours before tip-off for the women's game between the Beijing Great Wall and Liaoyang Golden Lions, the cheerleaders were rehearsing in the empty arena.
No one bothered to turn on the lights, so the six young women practiced in the weak sunshine filtering through a skylight spanning the length of the court. It was late afternoon and grew steadily darker as they discussed formations and spacing.
"We basically all have jobs and do this part-time. So you can't expect a lot, all we can do is try our best," Li said.
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