The 361 intersecting points on a Go board create a complex web where a single move influences the entire game. The strategic logic of Go—planning before acting and considering the whole board—deeply aligns with the high-level design for a city's high-quality development. As a treasure of traditional Chinese culture, Go has transcended being merely a competitive sport, becoming a focal point for many cities in enhancing cultural soft power, invigorating event economies, and deepening the integration of culture, sports, and tourism. Just as "no two Go games are ever the same," there is no fixed formula for urban development. Currently, cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Hangzhou have established themselves as first-tier national hubs for Go. However, the prefecture-level city of Quzhou is making a strong breakthrough. What driving forces lie behind this? How much potential can a simple board game unlock?
The Ranke Mountain World Go Park has already become a new landmark in Quzhou.
**Upgrading the Tournament System to Export the "Ranke" Brand**
On May 17th, the first stage of the 11th "Quzhou Ranke Cup" China Go Championship will commence at the China Qiyuan (China Chess and Go Institute). This title tournament, established in 2006, represents Quzhou's early exploration in cultivating its "Ranke" brand. The legend of "Wang Zhi Meeting the Immortals" at Ranke Mountain, encapsulated in the saying "Seven days in the cave, a thousand years in the world," has endowed Quzhou with an irreplicable major IP—"Ranke." As Zhu Yuntu, head of Quzhou's special task force for building the "World Go Holy Land," puts it, "This is a gift from our ancestors."
In recent years, deeply cultivating the "Ranke" event IP and revitalizing Go cultural resources have been crucial tasks for Quzhou in advancing Go development and empowering urban growth. According to Wang Runan, Honorary Chairman of the China Go Association, "Ranke Culture" belongs not only to Quzhou but also to China and the world. To amplify the value of the Ranke IP, Quzhou has continuously upgraded its tournament system. In 2023, it launched the "Quzhou Ranke Cup" World Go Open, which has become the only world championship held annually in China, offering a champion's prize of 1.8 million yuan. This year's international qualifiers attracted 375 players. In 2025, Quzhou newly introduced the "Ranke Cup" China Youth Go Open, with preliminary rounds held in Nanjing, Chongqing, and Jinan, achieving the export of the "Ranke" brand.
On April 1, 2022, the "Quzhou City Go Development and Revitalization Regulations" officially came into effect. This is China's first specialized legislation on Go. Globally, only South Korea had previously enacted a similar "Go Promotion Act" in 2018. These regulations aim to build the "World Go Holy Land" and outline a development framework focusing on promoting Go culture, popularizing Go education, enhancing skill levels, and integrating Go with industry development.
**Breaking Through: 42 National Go Characteristic Schools Established Citywide**
In 1962, New China's first Six-City Children's Go Tournament was held in Beijing. The participating cities—Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Hangzhou—have, through decades of dedicated effort, now firmly established themselves as first-tier national Go hubs. As a core gathering place for Chinese Go, Beijing boasts rich Go educational resources. It was the birthplace of China's earliest Go dojos (training centers), consistently attracting numerous young players aiming for professional status and serving as a cradle for cultivating professional players. However, currently, the city with the most concentrated resources for professional qualification is undoubtedly Hangzhou. In the 2025 professional qualification tournament, 12 students from the Hangzhou Intellectual Sports School achieved professional status, marking the 11th consecutive year the school led the nation in the number of new professionals, having cultivated over 200 professional players in the past two decades. With outstanding competitive achievements, talent output, hardware facilities, and policy support, Hangzhou is regarded as the "Chinese Go Special Zone."
Amidst these established Go powerhouses, the prefecture-level city of Quzhou is making a strong breakthrough. In 2021, Quzhou established a leading group and a special task force for building the "World Go Holy Land," promoting Go development from a high strategic level. Regarding the "Ranke Cup" tournament matrix, Quzhou has constructed a complete system encompassing "world championships + domestic title tournaments + youth events + amateur competitions." In terms of educational popularization, Quzhou took the lead in integrating Go into its quality education system. The city has established 42 national Go characteristic schools and founded the nation's first non-Olympic sports children's athletic school. Nearly 80,000 young people regularly study Go, laying a solid foundation for talent cultivation. "I can proudly say that Quzhou has formed a Go ecosystem," stated Zhu Yuntu, noting that current urban competition is fierce, and distinctive culture has become a core competitive advantage. Quzhou is based on popularizing the niche game of Go and internationalizing its unique Go culture, continuously amplifying the industrial value of Go, strengthening integration with culture and tourism, and striving to turn its "golden name card" into a "golden rice bowl."
In October 2025, the Ranke Mountain World Go Park was completed, and the Ranke World Go Culture Exhibition Hall opened simultaneously, becoming a new landmark for Quzhou. The park entrance features a distinctive "Heaven and Earth Go Board," with giant one-meter diameter pieces on the water surface that can be freely moved to recreate classic game positions. On April 13th, the opening ceremony of the 4th Quzhou Ranke Cup World Go Open was held here. The on-site slogan, "The world looks to China for Go, China looks to Quzhou for Go," demonstrated Quzhou's confidence and determination in building the "World Go Holy Land."
**Addressing Challenges: How to Remedy the Shortage of Local Professional Players?**
While building the "Ranke" IP and perfecting the urban Go ecosystem, Quzhou is also committed to strengthening its local Go League A team and cultivating local professional players. The Quzhou Ranke Team is currently the only prefecture-level city team participating in the Chinese Go League A. It achieved its best historical result last season, ranking 6th in the league. However, key team members like 9-dan players Tuo Jiaxi, Lian Xiao, and Liu Yuhang are not native to Quzhou. To address this talent gap, Quzhou has begun to make strategic moves. In 2023, the Quzhou Youth Go Team was established, creating a tiered structure of "school popularization - city youth team - professional youth training team." "The shortage of local professional players is our weakness and a key focus for future Go development," said Zhu Yuntu.
Looking at domestic first-tier Go cities, a complete talent cultivation system and a规模化 reserve of professional players form the core support for a city's Go strength. To truly join the ranks of first-tier Go hubs, the quantity and quality of top professional players is an unavoidable metric. Quzhou still has a long way to go in cultivating professional players. In 2021, 13-year-old Zhang Xinyu successfully attained professional status, becoming Quzhou's first local professional Go player; he has since been promoted to 5-dan professional. In 2022, Quzhou introduced the Ge Yuhong Go Dojo, which, alongside the Hangzhou Qiyuan (Chess and Go Institute), is considered one of China's two major platforms for professional qualification training. Last year alone, 9 individuals from this dojo achieved professional status. Zhu Yuntu explained that as supporting facilities at the Ranke Mountain World Go Park are gradually completed, the Quzhou Ge Dojo is expected to host 70 to 100 professional players for regular training next year. Quzhou also hopes to become one of China's three core gathering places for professional players, achieving a comprehensive leap towards becoming a "Go talent highland."