A world champion player plays international draughts with a student from Xizhangzhuang town in Xintai, Tai'an. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Five foreigners on Nov 22 visited a school in Xizhangzhuang town, Xintai, a county-level city of Tai'an, where they played international draughts with students and explored intangible cultural heritage (ICH) items.

The foreigners included international draughts world champions Ndjofang Jean Marc from Cameroon and Guntis Valneris from Latvia, as well as Asian champion Dul Erdenebileg from Mongolia.

"I think the students were a little nervous. They can practice more in their daily lives and perform better in the competition. This is a good start," said Valneris.

"International draughts is my favorite sport. My classmates and I feel honored to play it with world champions," said fourth grader Meng Ziyi after the game. "The champions are really amazing, and I will definitely take them as role models."

In addition, the expats visited the school's ICH activity room, where they experienced paper-cutting, straw weaving, and porcelain carving.

As the "hometown of national international draughts", Xintai will continue to focus on the development of students' skills and further promote the popularization and development of international draughts.