A college jogging club is raising hopes that fitness will become a priority for more students. Guo Ying and Sun Qi report.

At 6 am every day, students gather at the Zijing sports ground of Tsinghua University in Beijing. After cheerfully greeting each other, they do warm-up exercises and then run as the sun rises.

They are members of Tsinghua's morning jogging club, founded by Yin Ximing, a PhD student from the School of Economics and Management at the university.

To stay fit and develop an early-to-rise, early-to-bed habit, Yin started jogging in the morning with some of his friends.

They met other Tsinghua students who are regular joggers and formed a loosely organized club in 2015. Gradually, the club drew more students. The club now has more than 400 members.

Despite different reasons for joining - some wanted to lose weight, some wanted to practice to pass the university's fitness tests and others ran to vent their emotions - all enjoyed running.

The club has no requirements for speed or distance, says Yin. No matter how slowly you run, other people run with you. This encourages participation.

More importantly, running brings a sense of control of their lives and bodies.

"The positive energy of sport drives study and life, and brings unexpected changes," Yin says.

Liu Bo, head of the Division of Sports Science and Physical Education at Tsinghua University, says the campus has around 40 sports clubs and associations like the morning jogging club.

Tsinghua has a long sporting tradition. More than half a century ago, it boasted the slogan "Fighting to work at least 50 years healthily for the motherland" to demonstrate its emphasis on physical fitness. The new slogan "No sports, no Tsinghua" shows sports is integrated into the university's culture.

Tsinghua has a tradition of testing students in long-distance running - 3,000 meters for males and 1,500 meters for females.

From this year, undergraduates are also required to pass a swimming test before receiving their graduation certificate.

Liu believes physical education in universities is under threat from the internet and the growth of entertainment options that are breaking the habit of physical exercise among students.

"Tsinghua's data from 2003 to 2015 showed male students slowed by about 30 seconds in running 3,000 meters and female students slowed by 17 seconds in running 1,500 meters. Similar declines are seen in other physical tests such as long jump, pullups or situps," Liu says.

The government's Middle- and Long-term Youth Development Plan (2016-25), released in April, aims to enhance physical health among young people, urging schools to "toughen the implementation of the National Students' Physical Health Standard and help develop the habit of lifelong exercise".

Other Chinese universities are adopting mandatory measures in physical education.

Xiamen University in East China's Fujian province, Sun Yat-sen University and South China University of Technology in Guangdong province, have listed swimming as a compulsory course.

Xi'an Jiaotong University in Shaanxi province requires students to learn tai chi, an ancient Chinese martial art.

Liu believes that in an exam-oriented system, physical education is often overlooked in primary and secondary schools. Once students reach university, it's hard to overcome physical inertia and embrace exercise. Tsinghua's mandatory measures have helped students develop better exercise habits to an extent, despite the initial complaints.

"The Tsinghua marathon has been held three times since 2015, and the number of entries grew from 2,200 in the first year to more than 3,000 this year. It is so popular that we have to draw entries now. It shows growing acceptance of running and physical exercise," Liu says.

Hu Kai, who won the 100 meters at the 2005 Summer Universiade (a multisport event for college students worldwide), has been one of Tsinghua's most outstanding student athletes. He has a doctorate and joined the staff of its Division of Sports Science and Physical Education. Hu believes many Chinese see physical education only as a way of improving fitness and overlook its education function in character-building.

"In many of the world's leading universities, competitive sports, such as rugby, are very popular. Courage, hard work and teamwork in the game embody the value of physical education," Hu says.

Yin's morning jogging club is growing fast, and some members are developing new sports groups such as evening jogging clubs and a winter swimming association.