Yellow Mountain ImportsChinese Chess (Xiangqi) Set with Folding Rosewood Veneer Board (16.3-inch) and Acrylic Playing Pieces

I bought this set to play with my father when he visits. I had a hard time finding a nice set in my local Chinatown - the pieces are widely available but the boards are not, most people just using the folded paper board included with the sets they find in stores here.The board is nicely constructed. It is a nicely colored wood and the lines are clearly marked. There isn't a picture of it, but the backside of the board has cutout areas for the pieces. These are separated so that each player can store their pieces in a distinct area, which then folds over. The inside of these areas is lined with felt, so the plastic pieces don't make much (if any) noise when moving this board around. The inside lip has a magnet on each side which keeps the board closed when the pieces are inside. The magnets are pretty strong but I wouldn't toss this thing around closed expecting the board to stay together.The pieces are solid plastic. I actually thought this was a downside at first, but they do give a very satisfying Mahjong-like clap when capturing other pieces. It's a sound that my wooden set doesn't make, but it's like to hear that clap of solid pieces when I make a great move. My father tells me its bad manners, but he and his friends consistently stomp me in this game so when I make a great move I want the sound so that everyone knows it. Others might not like the click clack noise of the solid plastic pieces, but they are sturdy and won't get blown away in the wind like hollow plastic pieces.The cutout areas in the back of the board are sized specifically to these pieces, so my slightly larger wooden pieces aren't able to store in the board. If I can find some white wooden pieces that match the sizing of the included pieces, I might replace the plastic ones in the future, but there is nothing wrong with the pieces.Shipping was fast, the board was packaged very well with thick foam padding and was not damaged upon arrival, and the pieces were tightly wrapped in shrink wrap. The box also included a sheet of instructions for new players. I would say the price is slightly high if this was simply for plastic pieces, but the board is very nice and I think easily justifies the price.

Let me preface my review with this. I am not a great Xiangqi player, or someone reads Chinese fluently. When I was introduced to the game over 25 years ago, I sought out Chinese books on opening theory and strategy and modern game collections after quickly exhausting the insights of those in English. Wandering around Chinatown and trying to pronounce Xiangqi so that someone could help me was an interesting experience, repeated many times over. I then learned to use a Chinese-English dictionary to "read" them. My point is, I am not afraid of Chinese writing. I also own quite a few Xiangqi boards and pieces.First the good.The board is very nice. It holds the pieces and seems hold them securely. It is also beautiful. It is somewhat smaller than I expected, which makes picking up the pieces a little difficult. I didn't expect the ease of using big wood pieces on a large board, but it would be better to have more space. I am keeping the set for the board, and looking for other pieces. (more below)The pieces are well made as far as the material is concerned. They are solid white. Most pieces I have seen have white tops and green bottoms, which I like, but that isn't the problem. Neither is the patterned border, which again for me is a negative. (Note: It is very difficult to see which pieces you are getting from the picture on Amazon.)Now the not-so-good.The problem is the calligraphy, and it can be divided into three parts: playability--for both experienced players and beginners--and aesthetics.The calligraphy is poorly done and in a poorly chosen style. And it doesn't match most of the other melamine sets I have or have seen, in terms of some of the differences between the red and the black characters (e.g. the guards are the same in this set).The red pieces I can live with. They are "standard" and are recognizable. The style, however, is more flowing than I would prefer. While I know what they are, I find myself hesitating a little, and I think this is due to a lack of clarity, They need to be cleaner for ease of play.If this is true for me, it makes this a hard set to use to teach a beginner or too play with an inexperienced player. And I do believe beginners should learn with a Chinese set. For me, it is part of the game. i feel like I am participating in a great culture.The black pieces have more problems. The black "pawns" are horrible, If this was a brush painting, the painter would throw away the rice paper and start over. The black "pawns" are a blotch of ink with a line coming out of it. Really ugly. But the elephants are worse in terms of recognizability. There just isn't enough clarity in the "brush work."Since the problems are replicated it seems like this is in the design, not the production. (On other pieces, where the characters are pressed into the surface, you often get painting outside the lines, or failure to paint the character fully. You can often touch this up, and it doesn't affect the playing experience.)Aesthetically I find this annoying. It feels like a clumsy artistic failure. I say this as someone who considers Chinese landscape painting perhaps the finest painting in the history of art. I also enjoy calligraphy, though I don't expect to be able to read it. Here I do.Playability and aesthetics are my criteria. This set fails in both. (In international chess, a Staunton design, with minimal flourishes, of nice size and weight is my gold standard. I am still looking for this in a Xiangqi set.)The Bottom LineBoard -- Very nice.Pieces -- Construction -- NicePieces -- Calligraphy -- PoorI would not recommend this set to a non-Chinese player as your only set or for someone who expects to teach or play with inexperienced players.

The board doesn't lie 100% flat due to an uneven hinge. The pieces, though comfortably weighted, are more of a thick plastic than a marble. That said, for the price, this item is a delight to play with. The pieces are beautiful, and the board folds down remarkably thin. If you're looking for a set that comes with a better board than one sketched onto the side of a plastic bag, then you can't go wrong buying this set. Would buy again or for a friend!

Wonderful! I just received my Xiangqi set and it's perfect. I read that some hinged sets aren't level but mine is flush and completely level. The gold lines on the red wood board are very classy looking. The pieces are sturdy and a good size(I haven't actually handled another Xiangqi set but they're good solid pieces that I pictured from the description and videos from YouTbe.) The pieces have an impression of the characters with the ink right in the impression, no ink bleed. It came with a paper flyer with instructions to the game. Honestly I haven't found any flaws with it and would recommend to anyone interested.

This is an excellent board. Good construction and incredibly convenient storage. Size is that of a pretty standard chessboard, so if you were having trouble gauging the size from the pictures, don't worry about it being too small.I needed a board not so much because I play a lot physically, (I play online most of the time), but rather for my books. When going over a sequence of moves it's really nice to follow the book by looking at how the progression takes place rather than visualizing.

board is flimsy