Temple of Heaven's Secret?

Question

I went to Tiantan Park in @Beijing last week, totally breathtaking. Spent hours wandering the grounds, felt incredibly peaceful. But I noticed a lot of older folks playing some kind of game with these intricate discs...looked like chess, but definitely wasn't. Anyone know what that game is called? I'd love to learn how to play it. It seemed like a really important part of the park's social scene.

connieneu · Answer

worth adding that the crowd shifts by time of day. mornings near the east gate it's mostly xiangqi, loud, slapping pieces down, arguing about moves. around 3pm the same benches turn into weiqi territory, quieter crowd, and a few card games like dou dizhu sneak in. if you go on a weekday you'll get way more people willing to teach you than on weekends when it's packed with tourists.

editha · Answer

The game you saw is likely xiangqi, but there's a small detail worth knowing: the pieces aren't actually discs in the traditional sense, they're flat round wooden pucks with carved characters, and the red and black sides have different names for the same pieces. Red's general is called shuai, black's is called jiang, which trips up a lot of beginners. If you want to learn properly rather than just pick it up by osmosis, there's a cluster of regulars near the western side of the Long Corridor most mornings, some of them speak decent English and will let you sit in on a slow game. Bring your own tea, that's the real entry fee.

roselies · Answer

That's xiangqi you're seeing, Chinese chess. The discs are wooden pieces with characters on them, red vs black. The old guys at Tiantan take it dead serious, you'll see crowds of five people watching one board. If you wanna learn, just stand there looking curious and someone will prob wave you over, they love teaching foreigners. Pick up a cheap set at any supermarket for like 30 kuai and you're set.

monikabohlen · Answer

One thing nobody's mentioned is the clock culture. Most of the serious xiangqi guys at Tiantan play on a clock, usually the chess clock app on their phone now, and once you sit down you're expected to keep pace. So if you ask to learn, pick someone playing a casual game without a timer, because the timed matches get intense and nobody wants to coach mid-game. Also the south gate area has a few guys who play a variant called jieqi, where the pieces stay face down until captured, that one's a lot more forgiving for a beginner.

susen · Answer

if the pieces looked like chunky wooden pucks and the board had a river down the middle, thats xiangqi no question. but theres a third thing u mighta seen, its called daqi or just "the circle game" and its played with those same kinds of discs but on a round board, mostly by retired guys whove been at it since the 80s. i only know this bc my laoshi plays it every morning by the double pavilion near the south gate and he says its way older than xiangqi, though nobody agrees on that. anyway if it was a square board with a river its chinese chess, if no river its probably weiqi with stones, and if it was round, good luck bc theres like 12 people left who play it lol

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