Pupils learns how to play the game of Go in Quzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/Quzhou Daily]

Quzhou in East China's Zhejiang province has become the first city in China to promote the ancient board game of Go, also known as weiqi in China, in the form of legislation.

The Legislation to Revitalize Go in Quzhou was recently passed at the 32nd session of the 13th standing committee of the Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress.

The legislation, which is set to take effect on April 1 2022, has designated a week in October every year as the city's "Go Week".

It stipulates that kindergartens, primary and secondary schools from the city should open Go courses.

Colleges and secondary vocational schools are also encouraged to set up majors or elective courses related to the board game.

Rewards will be granted to those who make outstanding contributions to Go's development in the city.

Yu Weiluo, secretary general of the Quzhou Weiqi Association, said the move will be conducive to the protection of local Go culture. 

Quzhou is the birthplace of weiqi culture. The story about a woodman Wang Zhi playing weiqi in Lanke Mountain with immortals was told as early as the Eastern Jin dynasty (317 – 420) and was earliest written record of weiqi in China. Lanke Mountain was subsequently known as "the immortal land of weiqi".

Lin Jianchao, chairman of the Chinese Weiqi Association, noted that the regulation will be a reference for the formulation of regional regulations related to Go in the nation.