Girl, 7, dances at restaurant after school to support family

CHINA  - In the daytime, Huang Dou Dou, 7, is like any other Urumqi girl from the Xinjiang region of China.

She goes to school happily, wearing her uniform and red scarf.

But come night-time, Dou Dou puts on makeup and a skimpy outfit, as a solo dancer at a hotpot restaurant.

The 7-year-old dances four nights a week to make 800 yuan (S$160) a month, enough just to support her family and pay for her dancing tuition.

Her mother, who is crippled in her left leg, tries to make ends meet by baby-sitting, while her father, who is ill, can only take on ad-hoc jobs.

They live in an apartment of about 12 square metres.

After Dou Dou gets home from school, her mother helps her put on the makeup and accompanies her to the restaurant each night.

She performs latin-styled dances three times a night. But for Dou Dou, the highlight is always the free snacks she gets from the restaurant at the end of her 'working hours'.

By the time Dou Dou gets off work, it is 10pm. She changes into her uniform and slings her backpack over her shoulders before heading home to dinner and homework.

The journey each way takes about an hour, and Dou Dou seldom gets to sleep before 11pm.

But when asked about her plight which most would find pitiful, Dou Dou is not fazed. She says: "It's fun, but I don’t finish until 11 o’clock at night and then I have to do my homework for school the next day."

"I like dancing and sometimes I get tips which helps pay the bills. Sometimes I get tired but it is a very good job."

A job which most 7-year-olds do not need to worry about.