Chinese Chess

The latest craze at our house is Chinese Chess. Jef bought a set in China, but it took the long way home, so it just arrived at our house. The main differences I can see between Chinese and Rest-of-the-World Chess are that:

1 - There is a river down the middle of the board. No bridges. But that doesn't seem to stop any pieces from hopping right over it. It must be more like a stream.

2 - One side has a king, and the other side has a queen. Sorry, I can't tell you if they're married or not.

3 - All the pieces are the same shape and size (at least on our set), but have Chinese characters on them. And since we don't know the real names of the pieces, we have named them for what their symbols look like, such as the crocodile, the elephant, and the dead fish piece. (At least all these animals could easily cross a river.)