Chinese chess, a popular pastime of Vietnamese people, has been introduced for the first time at the 2010 Summer Festival that took place in Berlin from June 18-20.

The festival, jointly held by leftist party Die Linke and newspaper Neues Deutschland, drew the participation of hundreds of Germans and expatriates in the European country.

Festival organisers said that they hope the game introduction will help German friends to know more about the Vietnamese’ spiritual and cultural life, thus boosting the ties between the two countries.

At the festival, Vietnamese who live in Leipzig and Berlin taught visitors how to play this kind of game and compare it with the international chess, a game familiar with westerners.

Speaking at the festival, Pham Van Toan, First Secretary of the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany , affirmed that the relations between Vietnam and Germany are developing well and a series of events will be held this year to celebrate the 35 th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties./.