Ke Jie (right), 23, known as one of the world's best Go players and Lian Xiao, a national weiqi champion, exchange thoughts on the ancient game of Go, or weiqi strategies. They met on Dec 3 at the newly renovated Quzhou International Weiqi Cultural Exchange Center in Quzhou, located in East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: quzhoufb]

Situated on a site covering about 100,000 square meters and with a core floor space of 2,500 sq m, the newly renovated center is one of five international Go cultural exchange centers in China and will serve as the Quzhou training base of the national Go team.

The ancient game of Go, or weiqi in Chinese, is an abstract strategy game – thought to be more than several millennia old – where two players take turns in placing black and white stones on a board.

The city of Quzhou has been dubbed the birthplace of Go or weiqi culture. The story about the woodsman Wang Zhi playing weiqi in Lanke Mountain with immortals was told as early as the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420). The legendary story is regarded as being the earliest written record of weiqi in China. Lanke Mountain was subsequently known as "the immortal land of weiqi".

Because of its status as the legendary birthplace of Go, many of the game's most ardent fans take a keen interest in Lanke Mountain, a scenic area administered by the Kecheng district of Quzhou.

The newly renovated Quzhou International Weiqi Cultural Exchange Center is set to provide bright and tranquil surroundings for fans of Go, as well as for professional trainees. [Photo/WeChat account: quzhoufb]

The layout of the Quzhou International Weiqi Cultural Exchange Center is widely said to represent the very best qualities of Chinese traditional architecture. [Photo/WeChat account: quzhoufb]