“Although Yunzi is small, it can win glory for the country.” Yunzi, the carrier of Go culture, is a Go chess piece made in Yunnan. Each Yunzi reflects the wisdom of  Chinese.

Known as the "national treasure", Yunzi has been given as gifts to international dignitaries and is also the designated chess in the world Go competition. These little pieces come from Yunzi Chess Academy, located at Guandu Ancient Town, Kunming City, Yunnan Province.

Yunzi Chess Academy.

When entering Yunzi Chess Academy, Go chess elements are presented everywhere. Different chess games are displayed on the ground. There is a Yin-Yang Tai Chi diagram inlaid with black and white chess pieces in the front hall.

The process of making Yunzi.

Several chess masters are sitting in front of a hot furnace, focusing on making Yunzi. They use a ball-shaped iron pestle to dip the molten material at a high temperature, and make it drips on a slender iron plate, then move it out for cooling. The Go pieces can be pure white as ivory and black as lacquer. Under the sunlight, the black one shines like a dark emerald.

Yunzi. 

He Huafeng, the former chief engineer of Yunnan Go/Weiqi Factory and the president of Yunzi Research Institute, has developed the 2020 environmentally-friendly Yunzi after solving a series of problems such as controlling furnace temperature and adjusting formula for decades. The content of boron, aluminum and zinc in the Yunzi has been greatly increased, which increases the thermal stability, chemical stability and mechanical strength of the chess. The 2020 environmentally-friendly Yunzi is also the only Go pieces in China that has reached the European standards for exporting.

He Huafeng, the former chief engineer of Yunnan Go/Weiqi Factory and the president of Yunzi Research Institute. 

Liu Tingju, assistant craftsman of Yunnan Go/Weiqi Factory, has been engaged in Weiqi making for 26 years, and was rated as one of the top 10 craftsmen in Kunming in 2017.

Liu Tingju, assistant craftsman of Yunnan Go/Weiqi Factory.

On May 24, 2021, the traditional craft for making Yunnan Go pieces (Yunzi, Yongzi) declared by Yunnan Province was approved by the State Council and included in the fifth batch of national intangible cultural heritage representative items list.

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(Editors: Rachel, Christine)