African students learn kung fu and Chinese in Tianjin

On a lawn of the school, he shows his kung fu to an audience.

He looks confident while doing tiger-style boxing, one of the representative types of southern-style boxing.

"Chinese kung fu gave me strength of body and mind," he says.

Tsegaye says kung fu has become a popular sport in Ethiopia since it was introduced in the country in 1991.

Tsegaye enjoys living in China and learning about the language and culture.

Mohammed Issa from Tanzania, 28, is another person on the program in Tianjin.

Issa, who is known in his country as a kung fu practitioner, has a training center in the city of Dar es Salaam, where currently 300 students learn Chinese martial arts.

In their free time in Tianjin, the students have visited a section of the Great Wall in Tianjin and other scenic spots.

Occasionally, they join elderly Chinese as they dance in public squares.

This is the fourth training course at the Tianjin Huo Yuanjia Civil and Military School for African students.

In November 2013, the school received its first batch made of 20 trainees from Zimbabwe.

The session's schedule was moved to August later because outdoor sports activities can be challenging in winter in northern China, according to Zhang Shikui, vice-principal of the school.

"We also make changes to our course material as we go along. This year, for example, the 19 trainees were more keen on studying Chinese," says Zhang.

Some previous batches learned paper cutting and calligraphy.