In a bid to attract more students to traditional Chinese martial arts, the sport's national governing body is lobbying for it to be included in the school curriculum, allowing students to earn points towards the national college entrance examination.

Wushu covers a vast array of Chinese martial arts, including those forms of kung fu made famous by movie stars such as Bruce Lee and Jet Li. It has won over many foreign fans thanks to its dynamic moves and distinctive culture.

Yet the sport struggles to hold the attention of Chinese students, who show more interest in NBA stars.

To improve grassroots involvement, the General Administration of Wushu has drafted a proposal to introduce the martial art into the physical education curricula of China's primary and secondary schools, while calling for favorable scoring policies in the entrance exam.

To make the martial art accessible for all, last month the governing body established the Chinese Wushu Duanwei System, a hierarchical system that evaluates practitioners' qualifications, combat skills, theoretical knowledge and morality.

Popular styles such as changquan, taijiquan (tai chi) and nanquan would be compiled in textbooks and drills would be practiced in PE classes under the guidance of trained teachers, Gao said. Students who obtain high levels should also be awarded extra points in the entrance exam.

The system grades practitioners from low to high — primary duan (first to third), middle duan (fourth to sixth) and advanced duan (seventh to ninth).

Each duan requires a certain number of years of practice, as well as a level of theoretical and practical ability, martial arts ethics and etiquette.

Under current policy, high school students who register major achievements in national math, physics and chemistry contests can earn up to 20 extra points on their final college entrance exam score.

One hundred schools in Hebei and Shandong provinces have agreed to introduce pilot courses, and students will also practice styles of the duanwei system at 23 training centers, according to Li Xiaojie, director of the youth development department of the wushu administration.