The trips arranged to date have attracted the attention of several journals, as well as receieving positivie comments from many of the previous participants

Beijing, here we come again!

June 15, 2005 marked the beginning of the 2nd Go Summer Camp in China. 40 Go enthusiasts from all over the world gathered in Beijing to participate in this 2-month long event. While the one in 2004 is almost made up of Europeans, this year we have players from USA, Mexico and Peru, making the event more ‘globalized’.

The Go Summer Camp in China started as an idea of my Swedish friend Carl Johan who told me in December 2003 of his interest to learn Go in China. He also felt that it is a good opportunity to appreciate Chinese culture and do some sightseeing. The two of us then posted the thoughts on the Internet with the aim of forming a small group of 5-6 players. As it turned out, 25 Europeans registered for the trip and we were able to have the first Go Summer Camp in China in 2004.

(part of an article translated from the World of Weiqi, August 1 2005, written by Michael Yao; translator unknown. The players in the picture are Kerstin Fahl and Manfred Goetz.)

What do previous participants think about the Go to China trips?

"Hi, my name is Jan Czarnomski. I'm 16 years old and I'm from Germany. When I went to China I was just 15 years old, so my parents had a bad feeling about the trip to China. China is so far away and I'm a young boy. But in the end I found out, that there was no reason for such a feeling. The trip was an unique experience, that I would never repent. On the trip you could play go, relax, enjoy the great food, explore the Chinese culture...and much more. And when I came back to Germany, my parents asked me, if I missed them. I answered: "There was so much to do, I didn't have the time to miss you."

Daniel Jeppsson (picture above) met his current girlfriend on his second trip, in 2006. He also participated in 2005. As soon as he can get his girlfriend interested in go he will come again.

After his 2005 trip, he wrote: "The summer of 2005 fourty Go interested people went to China for a truly unique experience. Most were there to study Go in some form and to visit all the attractions in Beijing of course. I could only go for the first month and my plan was to study 50% of the time and go sightseeing the rest. This seemed like a great plan but after the trip it felt like I hardly got to do enough of anything. Therefore I'm going there another month this year and if the trip is anything like last years (which is something I don't doubt it will be) we will all have a blast again. Party in Beijing 2006!"

Previous participants may send an email to china@gongames.com to get a participants list of previous trips to be able to contact them. We also like to hear more about your experiences from the trips!