Does anyone know of any programs the allow Westerners (I'm from the US) to study Go in China or Taiwan? I'm looking for like a 3 month program that includes room and board as well. Think a mini-insei adventure. As of right now, I'm only aware of Guo Juan's program. Any comments would help. Thanks!

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I've never heard of this one so I'm glad to have more options. Thanks quantumf!

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The program is extremely popular here in Beijing. I think this past summer was the 4th or 5th year running, and I met a lot of the participants while they were here. I have not personally participated because I already live in Beijing, but I've met a couple of the trainers and they are devoted to the students and to the program.

The group maintains a room on KGS which you can find under Rooms -> Lessons -> Peter and Tom's Go Club.

I wish I knew. I'm in Guangzhou, China right now - and I have honestly had a hard time finding anybody who even knows how to play. I ask around all the time, hoping to find a club, or a group of players or something, but nobody is interested in the slightest. In southern China, evidently, they all adore xiangxi (a Chinese variation on chess). I'd love to find a go school, or even a go club here; but alas..

I'm thinking that maybe next summer I'll just go to Budapest, Hungary, and study at the Korean Baduk Center. It seems to be a lot cheaper (250 Euros for a month of study and a place to stay) and probably lacks a lot of the giant plumes of black smoke and general grime that Beijing seems to be so fond of anyways. http://www.badukcenter.com/ if you want to check that out.

Hope you find something cool - and if you happen to find anything in Southern China let me know haha.

@cdybeijin: I'm glad to hear about some accreditation on the program's part. At this point I think I'm trying to figure out which is the best option out of the two.

@spacellama11: Yeah... xiangqi is a huge thing over there. The closest weiqi center I'm aware of is in Wuhan (apparently 13 hours away from you according to Google Maps). Everything else on http://senseis.xmp.net/?WeiqiPlacesInChina seems to be in the northern part of China. =(

In regards to the Korean Baduk Center, it does seem to be more accommodating price wise. I guess I thought I'd go to China/Taiwan to boost my Mandarin at the same time... but that price difference is pretty nice.

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When I was in China for the Experience Go program I kinda got an impression that we foreigners were the only people there who actually played go!

Well ok, a few old guys at the club played too. People play xiangqi and cards on the streets everywhere, though.

Yeah. I seem to hear that complaint. I mean I've heard that Chinese Chess was for the masses and Go for the elites, but you would think it would be more prevalent over there...

@palapiku did you think you gained a lot from going to the trip? (like gaining a few stones in strength?)

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Well, the Go census claimed 10 million Chinese players, which is just 1% of their population, and it sounds like your experience reflects that. For real concentration, you want South Korea, where it's closer to 20%. For all that Go is supposedly dying in Japan, there may be a larger percentage of Japanese who play than Chinese. Of course I have no experience on the ground in any of the countries.

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