VARIOUS groups of people rushed into Luxun Park before dawn yesterday to stake their claim to plots of land on which to do their morning exercises.

The popular green space had been closed for 12 months for renovation.

On the stroke of 5am, a group of tai chi boxers picked a vacant spot, only for a band of ballroom dancers to do exactly the same. The dancers quickly created a perimeter on the ground using clothes and bags, and stared fiercely at the boxers.