Ba Sing Se

Ba Sing Se 永固城
Intendancy and sui generis royal city
Royal City of Ba Sing Se
From top, left to right: Walls of Ba Sing Se, Legation Quarter, Palace of Ba Sing Se and its Meridian Gate, Ba Sing Se University, Agricultural Zone
Etymology: "Ever-Invincible City"
Country	Earth Kingdom
Superintendency	South Jidai
Founded by	Yuan Wong (legendary)
Government
• Type	Royal intendancy
• Earth King	Ainin
• Superintendent of South Jidai	Prince Shu of Chungmen
• Intendant	Count Si-dai of Huangshi
• Chief Magistrate	Min San-wai
Area
• Total	81,186 blocks
Elevation	15 m (49 ft)
Abbreviation	永

Ba Sing Se (Terran: 永固城) is the capital and largest city of the Earth Kingdom. Located in the southeastern corner of the Earth Kingdom, the city is a diverse metropolis with residents hailing from around both the Earth Kingdom and the world and an extensive network of public infrastructure, making it one of the largest and most developed cities in the world. As the economic, cultural and administrative heart of the Earth Kingdom, Ba Sing Se is the seat to virtually all of the nation's major businesses, government bodies and educational institutions, playing an outsized role in world affairs. Ba Sing Se is administered as a royal intendancy and, as part of the Superintendency of South Jidai, is incorporated within the royal domain of the Earth King.

Situated on the Central Sea, Ba Sing Se is a major trading port and boasts extensive harbour facilities that handle trade and migration from throughout the Earth Kingdom and the world at large. The city is best known for its towering defensive wall, which fully envelops its built-up area and encloses an extensively terraformed oasis of lush vegetation within an otherwise arid desert. As one of the oldest earthbender settlements in the world, Ba Sing Se is said to have been established by Yuan Wong, the mythical founder of the Earth Kingdom. In recent years, it has expanded its influence over vast hinterlands and shifted from a regional centre to a world city as a result of the Unification of the Earth Kingdom.

As the capital of the strictly hierarchical Earth Kingdom, Ba Sing Se is a strongly stratified city with its social exclusions reflected in the physical landscape: the city is divided into rigid zones (or rings) of land use, including both class-segregated residential sectors and use-based areas, such as industrial and agricultural sectors. The city is home to such notable landmarks as the Palace of Ba Sing Se, the seat of the Earth Kingdom's government; Ba Sing Se University, the world's first institution of higher learning; Grand Central Station, the world's first and largest train station; and the Ba Sing Se Metro, an extensive, largely underground rapid transit system.

Etymology

The name Ba Sing Se derives from the Terran characters 永 (perpetual, long-lasting), 固 (strong, firm) and 城 (city), roughly translating to "ever-invincible city". The name is said to have been granted to the city by its legendary founder Yuan Wong, who wrote in the Doctrines of the Earth Kingdom that a stable royal capital was a prerequisite to pacify the regions and bring order to the realm. Scholars believe that the name directly refers to the city's walls, which prior to the discovery of gunpowder were thought impervious to any external invader.

Geography

Districts

Palace Precinct (Inner Ring)

The Palace Precinct (Terran: 宫区), commonly known as the Inner Ring (Terran: 上环), is the elite sector of the city reserved for the Earth King, the most important nobles and the highest functions of state. Centered on the Palace of Ba Sing Se, the seat of the Earth Kingdom government, the Palace Precinct includes the adjoining buildings to the palace. These buildings include:

• The Meridian Gate (中门), the monumental eastern entrance to the palace grounds within which are located a variety of storage facilities, military installations, and residences for servants and guards;
• The Temple of Solid Earth (永土宫), a Celestialist temple complex located in the southeastern corner of the Inner Ring which hosts the original copies of the three sacred texts: the Classic of Origins, the Classic of Nations and the Doctrines of the Earth Kingdom;
• The Royal Commission, officially known as His Majesty's Commission of Justice (皇家司法会), the high court of the Earth Kingdom that sits at the apex of the state judiciary and which hears important civil cases, criminal trials of notable individuals and appeals from summary convictions by magistrates;
• The Royal Guesthouse (皇家宾馆), the state guest house for visiting dignitaries and other guests of the Earth King.

City Area (Mid Ring)

The City Area (Terran: 市区), commonly known as the Mid Ring (Terran: 中环), is the economic core of Ba Sing Se and includes a diverse range of residential, commercial, industrial and institutional uses. The Mid Ring covers most of Ba Sing Se's land area and is home to most middle-class residents and nobles.

Neighbourhoods of the Mid Ring

Name	Image	Description
Legation Quarter 使馆区
Royal Market 皇家市场
Market Avenue 市场大街
Industrial Park 工业区
Yanchiangshan 岩浆山 (Lava Hill)
Muchang 牧场 (Pastures)
Yaxia 崖下 (Below the Cliff)
Zoological Garden 动物园
Ba Sing Se University 永固城皇家大学

Lower Ring

The Lower Ring (Terran: 下环) is a sector of Ba Sing Se reserved for commoners of modest means, notably including the city's lower classes, migrant workers, beggars and the infirm. Separated from the rest of the city by the Sanitary Canal, an open-air aqueduct, the Lower Ring is notable for its unplanned nature, poor quality infrastructure and perennial overcrowding. Despite its small size, the Lower Ring is home to an overwhelming majority of the city's residents.

Neighbourhoods of the Lower Ring

Name	Image	Description
Chiangbian 墙边 (Besides the Wall)	TBD	Made up of the westernmost blocks of the Lower Ring, Chiangbian is a residential neighbourhood notable for having many homes built directly against the city wall. The neighbourhood is mostly populated by shopkeepers, professional tradesmen and some lower-income workers who commute to other city sectors for work, including office clerks and civil servants. It includes all areas in the Lower Ring located west of the western public well.
Chungchi 中西 (Centre West)	TBD	Located towards the western end of the Lower Ring, Chungchi includes all buildings located between the western public well and Nangong Avenue that do not directly abut the latter. Chungchi is a dense and overcrowded neighbourhood comprised of working poor residents, and it is popular with migrant workers from other parts of the Earth Kingdom.
Nangong Dajie 南港大街 (South Harbour High Street)	TBD	Nangong Dajie comprises all the homes and businesses that directly abut Nangong Avenue, the large thoroughfare that bisects the Lower Ring and leads from the Mid Ring to the Southern Harbour. The neighbourhood includes a large number of shops, restaurants, lower-middle class dwellings and the central police station.
Chiangwai 墙外 (Outside the Wall)	TBD	Chiangwai is the only neighbourhood of Ba Sing Se located outside the city wall and comprises a number of dwellings built around the city's secondary port outside the Gate of Outward Perfection. Chiangwai includes the Southern Harbour of Ba Sing Se, which handles internal commoner migration to and from the city as well as less desirable cargoes, including scrap metal, livestock and manure. Most residents are fishermen and dockworkers.

See also

• Earth Kingdom