Sixiang

Sixiang, the ‘Venice of the East,' was located in the shallow waters of the China Sea. Sixiang was established at the exact crossroads of the four major regional nations - Japan/Ainu, Hainan, Daijiang China and Joseon Korea. It aimed to be a trade and transportation hub between these four cultures, while blending their styles into its own unique designs.

Sixiang City
Sixiang was a city state, centered on its one-of-a-kind canal city that bears the same name. This canal city was built completely from scratch, without any pre-existing land to base it on. The canal city had four distinct quarters, each built with inspiration from the four major nations to each side of Sixiang.

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For example, Black Tortoise Island was closest to Dajiang, thus its houses and bridge were inspired by Dajiang architechture. While inspired by the more complex designs of nations around it, Sixiang aimed to keep its architecture elegant and simplistic, so that anyone could easily adapt to it and build with it.

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Origins and Etymology
The name and unique maritime location of Sixiang is explained by its Chinese meaning - the four cardinal directions and four great beasts of Chinese astrology and mythology. Sixiang forms the center between four nations to the four cardinal directions - thus, each quarter also represents elements animals associated with the cardinal directions in Chinese mythology.

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Each of the four major island quarters was named accordingly - Black Tortoise Island, White Tiger Island, Vermillion Island and Azure island. Black tortoise Island had more wintery, Chinese characteristics and pallets of birch, while Vermilion Island was designed with a more summery, Japanese aesthetic.

Sixiang Policies
Sixiang currently has a population of two - but it desired only a small core population of builders. The main focus of the nation was as an international city - aiming for foreign construction and commerce.

- In addition to expanding its own population, the city offered properties for low prices to any businesses, embassies and dual citizens who wanted them. It also aimed to establish rail and transport links with surrounding nations, to strengthen regional commerce even further.