"We are designing an anti-drunken driving car system, with a master switch and an alcohol sensor," said Li Jialin, an 11-year-old from Beijing Caoqiao Primary School.

Li and his team were demonstrating their invention at the Play+Make event for Beijing's primary and secondary school students in late May.

They installed an alcohol sensor in the steering wheel and set up a program. When the driver presses the vehicle's start switch, the alcohol sensor begins to monitor the concentration of alcohol in the air. If it exceeds a certain standard, the car issues a warning and will not start.

More than 1,500 school students from Beijing showcased their designs at the event. They included a vehicle with an environmental-detection system and an intelligent baby stroller.

While showing great imagination, they all had one other thing in common - they needed programming.

Li learned to use Arduino, an open-source electronics platform, to create interactive objects at school. Young inventors at the event programmed their gadgets with all kinds of programming platforms, including Scratch, which offers a visual programming environment.

Programming is catching on in schools as one of the core skills of information technology.

Wang Jun, an official from the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, says more than 200 primary and secondary schools in Beijing teach programming. More schools are exposing students to programming through extracurricular activities and science societies.

"Programming is a tool, not an end. We hope the students can apply the skills of programming to innovation and develop a problem-solving mindset," Wang says.

In the United Kingdom, computer programming is a compulsory course for children older than 5.

Although China has yet to add programming to the national school curriculum, some private-education providers are eyeing the market.

Codemao is an education company that provides online graphical programming courses for students ages 6 to 16. It also provides an online programming platform where children can design and display their own work, such as games, music and animation.

Li Tianchi, founder of Codemao, is confident of the programming education market in China, which he believes may exceed the market for English study.

"The English-learning craze derived from the need for people-to-people exchanges in the globalized world. Nowadays, artificial intelligence is creeping into daily life," Li Tianchi says.

"Programming is the 'dialogue' for dealing with artificial intelligence.

"Students are not learning programming to become programmers when they grow up. It is going to become a basic skill for many walks of life. If a doctor requires a surgical robot or an astronomer wants to do a planetary-crash simulation experiment, they will need programming skills."

Li Tianchi is happy to find that many children who indulge in games become game designers, while children who like painting and writing incorporate their hobbies into programming.

From this year, Zhejiang province is listing information technology as an optional subject on the college entrance examination, and programming is an important part. In Beijing and Shanghai, students' programming talent may improve their chances of getting into better secondary schools.

But Li Tianchi wants students to think of programming as "interesting" instead of another cram subject.

"Programming education should focus on how to liberate the students' creativity - not on utilitarian needs."

Makeblock, a Shenzhen-based robotics company, develops programmable education robots, programmable drones and other education products with graphical programming functions.

Founded in 2013, Makeblock has gained a market share in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Wang Jianjun, the founder and CEO of Makeblock, says its products are selling in more than 140 countries and regions across the world. One of its star products, mBot, for example, has been particularly welcomed at schools in France and Spain.

But the company is now turning its attention to the Chinese market.

"We are working with more than 1,000 public schools across China to promote programming education," says Wang Jianjun.

Many parents in China are more open-minded than previous generations, and they have more favorable attitudes toward programming and raising better-rounded children.

Wang Jianjun admits he didn't have the chance to learn programming until he was an undergraduate. But now many Chinese children have access to programming at a younger age.

"Children have a lot of creativity, and programming is a useful path to creation, helping them turn their ideas into reality," he says.

Left: Students demonstrate their inventions at the Play+Make event in Beijing. Zhao Wanwei / Xinhua Right: Visitors play with mBots at a carnival hosted by Makeblock in Beijing. Provided To China Daily