FUN XIANGQI GUIDES
How to Play the Cross-Palace Cannon in Xiangqi (過宮炮)
By The Fun Xiangqi Team · Published · 3 min read
Video walkthrough coming soon
Steps
Pick one of your cannons
Your cannons start on the third line from your edge, in front of your horses. This guide uses the one on your right.
Slide it across the front of your palace
Move the cannon sideways along its line, past the middle file, and stop on the palace corner on the other side. Every point on the way is empty at the start.
Keep the middle file free
Unlike the Central Cannon, no piece has moved onto the middle file in front of your general, so the centre stays flexible.
Open the file for your chariot
The file the cannon left is now empty. Move the horse beside it out, and the chariot on that side can step along the back line and use that file.
Keep developing
Bring your chariots out early and don't move the same cannon again and again. Let the rest of your army join in before you attack.
Before you start
The Cross-Palace Cannon, 過宮炮, moves a cannon to the other side of your palace instead of into the middle. It keeps your centre flexible, opens a file for one of your chariots, and helps hold back your opponent's horse. You only need to know that a cannon moves like a chariot when it isn't capturing — any distance along a line, never through other pieces.
The position on the board
Here is Red's half after the move. Files run a to i from Red's left, lines 1 to 5 from Red's edge.
a b c d e f g h i
5 . . . . . . . . .
4 S . S . S . S . S
3 . C . C . . . o .
2 . . . . . . . . .
1 R H E A G A E H R
G = general, A = advisor, E = elephant, H = horse, R = chariot, C = cannon, S = soldier, o = the point the cannon left. The cannon slid from h3 past g3, f3 and e3 and stopped on d3 — the palace corner on the other side of the middle file. The palace's front edge runs from d3 to f3, so the cannon travelled right across it.
Two things changed. No piece has moved onto the middle file — e2 and e3 in front of your general are still empty — so you haven't committed your centre. And the h-file is now clear: once the horse on h1 moves out, the chariot on i1 can step to h1 and use that open file.
Tips for playing it
- Move the horse next. The open file only helps once the horse beside the chariot is out of the way.
- Get the chariot out early. That's a big part of the plan — don't leave it sitting in the corner.
- Don't keep moving the cannon. One slide sets the position. Develop other pieces before you touch it again.
- Keep your horses' legs clear and leave your general in the palace.
Quick questions
How is this different from the Central Cannon? The Central Cannon stops on the middle file to attack at once. The Cross-Palace Cannon passes the middle and leaves the middle file to your soldier.
Can I play it with the left cannon? Yes, the same idea works mirrored: slide it across the front of the palace to the corner on the right.
Does the cannon jump when it slides across? No. It's an ordinary move along empty points. A cannon only jumps when it captures.
This series covers four common openings. Try them all against the classic engine — levels 1–4 are free from the Fun Xiangqi home page.