Chinese checkers finishers. The rules are simple, so even young children can play. Despite its name, the game is not a variation of checkers, nor did it originate in China or any part of Asia (whereas the game 象棋 "xiangqi", or "Chinese chess", is from China). The game was invented in Germany in 1892 under the name "Stern-Halma" as a variation of the older American game Halma. The "Stern" (German for "star") refers to the board's star shape (in contrast to the square board used in Halma). The name "Chinese Checkers" originated in the United States as a marketing scheme by Bill
Chinese people in Kazakhstan in Kazakhstan, and 3,907 out of 3,916 former Chinese citizens who acquired Kazakhstani nationality that year. Most are concentrated around Almaty and East Kazakhstan Province. They form the majority of teachers of the Chinese language at Kazakhstani universities. Kazakhstanis generally express negative sentiments about the presence of the Chinese in their country. There is even some opposition to the presence or further migration of Uyghurs or Kazakhs from Xinjiang, because of the perception that their presence may draw more Chinese influence into the country as well. A 2009 proposal by the Chinese government to lease one million hectares of steppe