Primary school kids stick with their dance lessons

Su Jinghan, an 11-year-old Chinese girl, goes to school with two colorful sticks every day.

The sticks, roughly 40 centimeters in length, called huagun in Chinese, are for physical training at her school in Yinchuan, capital city of Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

When Jinghan dances with the sticks, which are decorated with colorful pieces of silk and small bells, she is performing a kind of martial art, which is accompanied by ringing bells.

Huagun dance is an ancient Chinese folk sports activity, and these days, it is especially popular among elderly people.

Sun Mengchun, the assistant headmaster of the No 23 Primary School in Xingqing district of Yinchuan, says they have made the sticks shorter than usual, so that they are easy to carry.

"It is a combination of dance and wushu (martial arts) moves and mobilizes the whole body. Moreover, it produces an enchanting sound," Sun says, adding that all students in the school have learned to dance with huagun and seem to enjoy it.

Besides huagun dance, the primary school also introduced martial arts, boxing and hip-hop dance to enrich children's physical training during the class break.

"I love this new physical training curriculum. It makes me strong and I can feel the charm of martial arts," Jinghan says.

Jinghan also says she works up a sweat doing all the exercises, which relax her body and reduce pressure on her mind if it is overburdened with studies.

Meanwhile, in the No 16 Primary School in Xingqing district, the students turn to more universal sports such as trampoline, tennis and badminton.

Gao Yanhua, assistant headmaster of the school, explains that the school has hired some off-campus professionals to come and teach the students to master the necessary skills.

"The more sports they have to choose from, the more chances they can find the one they like," Gao adds.

Zhang Liming, an official with the Xingqing district education bureau, says that, by encouraging students to take part in sports like monocycle, waist drum, diabolo, bamboo pole dance, many schools have worked out their own customized physical training plans.

"The activities are very popular among kids, and they also benefit from the exercise during the prolonged breaks between classes," Zhang says.

Wang Yongli, another senior manager of the No 23 Primary School, says that, every year, they will publish the physical status of all the children, as well as the rate of obesity and myopia, in the most visible place on campus.

"Green means good, while yellow is a warning for teachers not only to pay attention to children's academic performance, but also to their physical fitness and health," she says.