The Wider Image: China's Olympic schools
Children practice handstands during gymnastics lessons at the Shanghai Yangpu Youth Amateur Athletic School in Shanghai, China, March 23, 2016. China's sports system has been enormously successful since the country returned to the Olympic fold in 1980, culminating with the host nation topping the medals' table at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. And yet, with the Rio de Janeiro Games less than three months away, the system is beginning to break down due to the shifting demographics of a more prosperous nation. Some schools have closed and others are adjusting the way they work. Some, like the Shanghai Yangpu Youth Amateur Athletic School, are going into kindergartens to advertise gymnastics as an after-school play time activity to parents. "We call it happy gymnastics," said principal Zhu Zengxiang. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "CHINA OLYMPIC SCHOOL" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES
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