Chinese chess, originated from the Warring States Period, is a game created on the basis of two confronting military formations of that period. By the time of Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), it had already became very popular, with its style of play basically fixed by Song Dynasty (960 - 1279).

The chessboard is squared in shape, with a border called Chuhe River in the middle that separates the two sides. On either side, vertical and horizontal lines are drawn forming 90 intersections, where pieces are placed on crossing point. There are altogether 32 pieces, which are divided into two groups. Characters engraved in chessmen are painted red or black respectively to represent the two sides. Each side has a Marshal - as King, two Mandarins - as Assistants, two Elephants, two horses, two Chariots, two Cannons and five Soldiers, each with its own designated movement. At the start of play, all the chessmen must be placeed in fixed positions. The red side moves first, then players take alternate turns. Different pieces have defferent rules to move, for example, Horse moves one point orthogonally followed by one point outward-diagonally, Elephant moves exactly two points diagonally, Chariot moves any number of points either horizontally or vertically but not diagonally, etc. When Marshal is checked and there is no way to save it, that side is lost, but sometimes there can be a stalemate.

Since 1949, Chinese chess has been listed as an event in the national sport games. In the 1970s, Chinese chess players began to promote the game abroad. Today, more than 40 countries and regions have established their own Chinese chess clubs.