Tradition meets high-tech in China's PE classes

Nowadays, many Chinese schools have not only added traditional elements to physical exercise, but have also introduced artificial intelligence and advanced equipment to campus sports.

In Xingye county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, six grader Tan Jintuan stood in front of a screen featuring an AI-enabled sports simulator. After unlocking the program with facial recognition, Tan raised his hand as a signal to start his exercises.

The simulator features activities such as long jump, rope jump and sit-ups. An AI-enabled camera captures the student's movements in real-time, assesses their performance and provides a report with exercise suggestions.

"After I finished my jumping, I can see my score and rankings. When I find myself making step-by-step improvements, I really want to keep trying," Tan said.

"With the new equipment, we enjoy doing sports even more, and are filled with energy and a desire to compete with each other."

AI has been deeply integrated into campus sports. In Huaze School in Changchun, Northeast China's Jilin province, a large display screen presents a real-time count of the school's participants in sports activities, as well as their average exercise duration and intensity.

The AI system makes a statistical analysis of the sports activities in the school through cameras and other detection devices.