zhōng guó xiàng qí    

    
   Chinese chess, or xiang qi, has been played for many centuries throughout China and is popular with people of all ages.
   The game consists of 32 pieces and is played by two players. The goal of the game is to capture the opponent's most important piece: the General or King.
   Unlike Western chess, Chinese chess has seven classes of pieces, the General, Advisor, Elephant, Horse, Chariot, Cannon, and Pawn; while Western Chess has six classes of pieces: King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook, and Pawn. Also, Chinese chess is played on a larger board. 

   The Chinese game is played on the points of intersecting lines, rather than on the squares of the board.
   Here are the moves and regulations of the xiangqi pieces: The General is the most important piece of the game. It moves horizontally or vertically one unit at a time but never moves from the base. He moves one space at a time, left, right, forward or backward. He is confined to the nine-point fortress, on his side of the board. 
   The Advisor is a defensive unit and provides support for the General. It is also confined to the fortress and moves one point diagonally.
   The Elephant, or Minister, moves two points in any diagonal direction. This piece can be blocked by another piece on the intervening square and is not allowed to cross the river, which runs between the two sides of the board.
   The Horse moves first one point along the horizontal/vertical lines, and then one point diagonally. Similar to the Knight in Western chess, the horse can be blocked by an intervening piece. 
   The Chariot moves exactly like the Rook in Western chess: as many spaces as it wishes horizontally or vertically, until it meets another piece or the edge of the board. The Cannon is a peculiar piece. It moves like the Chariot or Rook when not capturing pieces. But to capture, it must have a piece, friend or foe, in line, to jump over.
   The Foot Soldier moves one point forward. After it crosses the river, it may also move to the right and left, but never backward. Unlike the Pawn in Western chess, this piece captures as it moves normally and is not promoted upon reaching the far end of the board.
   The River, which creates a space between the two sides of the board, is generally ignored - as if it were filled in with lines, completing a board of 9 x 10 points. It only affects the moves of the Elephants, who cannot cross it, and the Foot Soldiers, who gain more power of movement after crossing it.