Yvonne Zhang dances with her daughter Loretta Qi in front of the TV to the new dance craze Xiao Pingguo. Photo / Jason Oxenham
First there was South Korea's Gangnam Style - now it's China's Little Apple.
In China, millions are singing and dancing to Xiao Pingguo (Little Apple), even the communist state's military and police.
Now the phenomenon has made its way to New Zealand with many here professing to be fans of the Mandarin hit song.
A small group of Chinese students last week performed a flash mob, dancing to the moves of Xiao Pingguo in Aotea Square.
The song, written by Xiao Yang and Wang Taili, who call themselves Chopstick Brothers, was released in July to promote their latest film.
Its catchy, repetitive chorus "You're my little apple, you're my little apple" has turned it into a nationwide phenomenon in China.
The six-minute accompanying music video has notched up more than 55 million views on Chinese video sharing sites such as Youku, Sohu and iQiyi.
"The song just makes you want to dance and the words are so easy to remember," says mother Yvonne Zhang, from Glenfield.
"Since we first heard the Xiao Pingguo not a day has passed without me and my little girl dancing to it."
Mrs Zhang's husband, Gary Qi, posted a video on Youku of their 2-year-old daughter Loretta dancing to her favourite hit.
The China People's Liberation Army in the Xian state has used the song for its recruitment video and Shandong police last month changed the lyrics for a phone-banking scam broadcast warning.
There are hundreds of amateur videos - from South Korea to the USA - of groups dancing to the song, including one parody bringing together North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
Little Apple fan Joanna Li, 19, a student from Kelston, said she had viewed more than a hundred different variations of the song online.
"Gangnam Style had its horseriding move, but I think Xiao Pingguo's 'outlining the apple' move is much cuter," Miss Li said.
"I know the words and moves by heart."
Massey University China marketing specialist Henry Chung said the original video used cute characters, humour and some Korean language and scenery.
"It is clearly positioned in this way so that it can penetrate the market easier because Gangnam Style was such a big hit," said Dr Chung.
"If it proves a success, it will have a larger impact than Gangnam due to the large amount of Chinese population."
The original video begins with a botched plastic surgery operation before cutting to Xiao and Wang dancing naked in the Garden of Eden.
The "brothers" then appear in different sequences, one acting as village children and dressed as mermaids in another.
However, experts overseas say Xiao Pingguo does not have the same Westernised ingredients that fuelled the Gangnam Style success.
Chinese music critic Hao Fang told AFP that unlike K-Pop, which has won over attention beyond Asia, China pop music had remained largely within its borders.
* Gagnam style
The wide-stance dance-floor move made famous by South Korean pop-star Psy in 2012. By the end of the year, the song which shares the same name as the signature dance move had topped charts in more than 30 countries, with many well-known leaders - including New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and US President Barack Obama - among those who attempted it.
* Harlem shake
Internet phenomenon which took off last year. Clips of the dance craze typically consist of two halves: in the first 15 seconds, a lone dancer grooves while ignored by others around them, then in the last segment, the dancer is joined by dozens of others, all energetically dancing.
* Twerking
Favoured by US pop star Miley Cyrus. Usually involves combining a low squat stance and thrusting hip movements. Can be performed by men and women.
* Krumping
Created by American Thomas "Tommy the Clown" Johnson who describes the dance as "freestyle, very energetic, aggressive and an outlet for the inner-city kids to channel their energy". Popular in the mid to late noughties.
* The Macarena
A throwback to the 90s. The dance move and song of the same name had a cult following by 1996. The original spanish version of the song was produced in 1993, and it was a remix version - with English lyrics - which topped the U.S. Billboard chart three years later.
The Alt-rock legends are ready to take the North Island by storm once again.