The welcoming atmosphere, with its vibrant diversity, is part of what draws international participants as well. Jonathan Evans, an amateur 2-dan Go player from New York in the United States, was so impressed that he made the Starbucks his regular evening hangout.

"Everyone here is so strong," Evans remarks. "You have to work really hard on your own. But if you come here, you can learn a lot from strong players."

Evans has been playing Go a lot since 2021. "It's extraordinarily deep, with very simple rules. It feels like there's basically no limit to how good you can be," he says.

When not visiting the coffee shop to play Go, he will also play at home with his international friends online. "I know a lot of people who play Go from Finland, Spain and America. I stay in touch with them, play some games, and we learn more about the game together."

But compared to playing games online, Evans prefers playing over the board. "Because it forces you to think more about what you're playing. When I play too fast, I sometimes just make moves without thinking, and then lose. So playing in person allows me to play slower, consider my moves and really improve, and play a good game."

William Luff, a Go enthusiast from Boston in the US, has been playing it for almost 17 years. After moving to Shanghai last year, he started to play more seriously. "I figured that playing Go is good. It's Chinese culture, so I can learn Chinese culture and the Chinese language at the same time."

He found the club on the social media platform Xiaohongshu, and now he participates in the club, relaxing with Go matches every week. "The atmosphere is very nice, and people are friendly. There are many players, so you can always find someone of similar strength," Luff says.

Huang says that, so far, he has met Go players from Australia, the US and France in the coffee shop. "We just arranged a game, had an excellent match and became friends."