Shaping up for a fitter future

Stats such as these are enough to show Tang that, far from being excessive, the school's exercise policy is absolutely necessary. After just one semester of sports classes, most students can now perform 50 push-ups in a minute, according to Tang.

"Before the sports classes, I could only do two to three chin-ups. But now I can easily finish 10," Zhang Kunpeng, a first-grade student, told China Sports Daily.

The school also offers students a varied sports curriculum, including basketball, volleyball, soccer, swimming, fencing and yoga, taught by a staff of 21 coaches, both domestic and foreign.