Why a Shanghai Street Coffee Shop Welcomes Go Players Every Week

A Starbucks in Shanghai has become a regular gathering spot for Go enthusiasts, who meet every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday afternoon with their own boards and stones. The largest turnout has exceeded thirty people, and the spontaneously formed group has nearly four hundred members online, with no fees charged to join.

As numbers grew, the store made two requests: keep the noise down and make appropriate purchases. The organizer also pays out of pocket for orders. The arrangement has prompted discussion about how public spaces such as a street coffee shop can host community activity while balancing the commercial needs of the business.

Recently, a Starbucks in Shanghai has sparked heated online discussion after becoming a regular gathering place for Go enthusiasts. Every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday afternoon, numerous Go players bring their own boards and pieces to gather here, with the largest turnout exceeding thirty people. This spontaneously formed Go circle has nearly four hundred members. The organizer not only voluntarily helps everyone find playing partners but also pays out of pocket for orders each time. However, as the number of participants grew, the store made two requests: to keep the noise down as much as possible, and for everyone to make appropriate purchases. This symbiotic relationship between the coffee shop and the Go players has triggered discussions about the boundaries of public space use and civilized coexistence. Front Street Coffee pays attention to every detail of coffee culture and explores with you the possibilities of the city's third space.

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Recently, a report about "Starbucks transforming into a Go fans' gathering spot" has sparked widespread discussion online.

Earlier, a netizen uploaded a video on Bilibili, claiming that a Starbucks store in Shanghai had been "occupied" by Go enthusiasts, with the store packed inside and out with players coming to play, so lively it seemed like a private booking. After the video quickly spread, many passersby netizens commented, "What a great atmosphere." As of now, the video has surpassed one million views.

It is reported that every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday afternoon, someone specifically organizes Go activities at this Starbucks. One player revealed that these activities are completely spontaneous, with participants bringing their own Go sets and taking them away after the events.

On the afternoon of January 25, according to on-site observations by The Paper reporters, most of the seats on the second floor of that Starbucks were occupied by Go players, roughly estimated at about 30 people, and the overall environment was relatively quiet.

A Go player interviewed said that this is a spontaneously formed playing location for everyone, and they have an online Go players' group of nearly 400 people, with no introduction fees or membership fees charged—it's purely exchanges among Go enthusiasts. He mentioned that he has 17 Go sets at home and decides how many to bring based on the agreed number of participants each time. At most, he once brought 15 Go sets to this Starbucks. Sometimes when he brought too few, he would even make a special trip home to get more. Whenever new Go fans join, he enthusiastically helps them find "playing partners" of similar skill level.

Speaking about why they chose this place as their Go "base," the organizer said that at first everyone just gathered in a small group at a bakery near Starbucks. Since that store mainly focused on takeout bread and cakes, there were few dine-in customers and plenty of empty seats. Later, the bakery closed down, and the base moved to Starbucks. Afterward, everyone suggested creating a WeChat group to make it easier to contact each other when arranging games.

As more and more Go players gathered at the store, the responsible staff member at that Starbucks made two requests to the organizer: first, remind the players to keep quiet as much as possible so as not to disturb other customers; second, hope that everyone would try to place orders and consume. The organizer also relayed these requests in the WeChat group and often reminded players who were being loud on-site to watch their volume.

In his view, the environment here is indeed nice, but the store still needs to make a profit, and business is not easy, so people should make appropriate purchases. As for whether the players ultimately buy anything, the initiator said he had observed before that after one Go session ended, he found that more than half of the people had made purchases, but there were still over ten people who did not order anything, while he himself always ordered a 25-yuan tea drink each time. From the videos and photos posted by netizens, it is indeed true that a few players "only play Go without ordering."

Seeing Starbucks directly turn into a Go hall, and on such a large scale, many netizens exclaimed that they really like this cultural atmosphere and even suggested to Starbucks: why not take this opportunity to hold a Go competition. That said, in a big city like Shanghai, when looking for a temporary gathering place, a café is indeed an ideal choice. But if everyone can keep quiet and make appropriate purchases, it would be a win-win situation for both the Go players and the coffee shop.

As one netizen put it: ordering a coffee is an obligation, and being mindful of time limits is self-awareness. Only by grasping a sense of boundaries can we coexist harmoniously.

Image source: The Paper

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