Xiongjing

Xiongjing, officially the Glorious City of Xiongjing, Magnificent Capital of the Great Bai Empire, is the capital city of the Bai Empire. Located in the centre of the Empire's northern region, it borders the Yinxue Province to the north and west, Baokuang Province to the northeast, Fan'an to the southeast and Dong'an to the south. The seat of the Bai federal government and His Majesty the Bai Emperor, it is one of the largest and most populous cities of the Empire.

The city was founded and constructed on the Xiongjing Plateau in 1822, during the reign of the Late Guangzhi Emperor. Since its establishment as the new capital of the Middle Bai Dynasty, the capital became the Empire's cultural, political, economic and educational centre. Xiongjing was devastated by an earthquake in 1902, and again by air raids and the Battle of Xiongjing that concluded the War of Fellow Brothers. During the Warlord Era, the Central Clique attempted to rebuild and develop the capital with limited success. In the final phases of the Eastern Expedition, Yu Zeming's forces peacefully seized control of the capital. Under the New Bai Dynasty, the city underwent rapid reconstruction and expansion, going on to lead the Empire's post-war economic recovery in the 80s and 90s.

Having one of the largest urban economies in the world, Xiongjing hosts the headquarters of many largest state-owned national companies and houses various prominent global companies. It is also a major hub for the national highway, expressway, railway, and high-speed rail networks and is served by an extensive metro system – the Xiongjing Metro. Various airports serve the capital, with Xiongjing Dongyue Airport handling most of the air traffic to the capital.

Geography
Xiongjing is located on the Xiongjing Plateau, which is part of the Baokuang Mountain Range in central Bai proper. Surrounded by various mountains and volcanoes, the city has a minimum altitude of 2200 m above sea level. Many rivers flow through the city into two large lakes – and  – before converging into the East Bai River that flows out from the city's southeast. Being on a convergent fault line, the city encounters frequent seismic activity.

The city has a subtropical highland climate, being located 22° North and on a high altitude. The average annual temperature varies from 12 to 16 C. Rarely do temperatures fall below −5 C or rise above 30 C. The lowest temperature ever recorded was −5.7 C on 13 February 1960. On the other hand, the city in recent years has seen records of higher temperatures due to global warming, with the most recent highest temperature recorded to be 34.9 C on 8 June 2020. Being at a high altitude, the city has generally lower humidity and hence lower rainfall compared to other regions of the Bai Empire. During the winter months, the city sometimes experiences snowfall and rarely heavy snowstorms. With global warming, however, snowfall has been greatly reduced and became more infrequent in recent years.

Early settlement
Prior to its establishment as the Empire's capital, the area has already been settled by many mountain tribes due to its location near the two lakes. The various tribes have often fought over the water resources and whatever fertile land in the area. During the Princes' Era, the area fell under the jurisdiction of the Zhang State, which evicted many of the mountain tribes from the area as it fortified its borders.

The Zhang Annals claimed the construction of the legendary Zhang Wall that stretched across the mountain range through the two lakes. However, archaeologists have been unable to discover any evidence of the Wall apart from building remnants that suggest smaller walls or former checkpoints. It has been widely suggested by many Bai scholars that the Wall, while planned, was never constructed due to logistical obstacles needed to construct the entire Wall.

During the First Bai and the subsequent dynasties, the area became a thoroughfare for some routes through the Baokuang Mountains. However, many traders going to and from the east coast preferred travelling through Gumiao than the plateau, due to the difficulty of trekking the mountains. Many of those who passed through the area were pilgrims trekking to the temples for spiritual guidance.

Establishment and growth


The second Emperor of the Middle Bai Dynasty, the Guangzhi Emperor, sought to consolidate his power by establishing a new "formidable" capital. Following the death of his father Hu Fengyao, also the founder of the Middle Bai, many military generals conspired to seize power and launched the Dingzu mutiny which devastated the then capital of Bairong (today's Hurong). Through a decree in 1821, the Emperor commissioned several architects to design the capital's layout and key buildings such as the Grand Palace and the Assembly. While not acknowledged in the early records of the capital's construction, the architectural team behind the layout of Xiongjing included foreigners such as Benjamin Mitchell and Mary Drake from the Federal States. Most of the plans were finalised a year later.

Construction of the new capital began in 1822 and was completed 15 years later. The construction was challenging due to the rough terrain and the high altitude. As many as 10,000 labourers die during the construction, as supply lines to the construction site were often disrupted by bandits. The Labourers' Memorial, located in the Palace grounds, was erected in memory of the labourers.

Xiongjing quickly rose to become the Empire's new political and economic centre. As the city industrialized, it developed rapidly with the construction of railways on the plateau. Xiongjing became an important crossroad for rail transport through the mountains. Many businesses began to establish their operations in the capital, drawing many workers to the city.

As the Bai Empire established relations around the world, various countries began to establish their permanent diplomatic presence in the capital. Various Ulethan quarters were established as many Ulethans settled in the capital. At the end of the 19th century, the capital became a renowned centre for science, technology, arts, city planning, higher education and industries. Several Bai scientists, such as Rong Sunfu and Lian Weiyao, rose to prominence during their years in the city.

During the 1900s, the capital underwent political unrest due to the stagnating economy and rampant corruption in the national government. The government's slow response to rebuild the city after the 1902 earthquake (which led to 230,000 deaths) spurred various political movements in the city. Street fighting was common as rival political groups encouraged strikes and disruption in the capital. The Fascists, who briefly took power from 1910 to 1919, seized control of the capital through the Xiongjing March with the support of the military. This ended the Middle Bai Dynasty and established the Bai Republic in 1922.