Collab:Bai Empire
 This is the archived collaboration page for the Bai Empire project. This project is not currently active. Please see the announcement for details.
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Bai Empire  百帝国 (Baiyu) Capital: Xiongjing
Population: 210,000,000 (2022) Motto: 百省一心 Anthem: Glory to the Empire |
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Located in Northern Archanta, the Bai Empire∈⊾ (百帝国) is a Chinese-speaking country that was once a colonial power. While China is the main inspiration, with the country taking up the Chinese culture, heritage and language, the Empire is not intended to be a carbon copy of the China we know today. Think of the project to be an answer to what a functioning, modern Chinese Empire will be like, with relatively stronger influences from other Asian cultures. The project encompasses 812540.00 km²∈⊾.
Contributors
Anyone with a background, interest, and/or understanding of Chinese culture and history (especially pre-PRC Chinese history) is welcome to join in the project. (It is not necessary to have proficiency in the Chinese language). Mappers may claim a province or sign up to be part of the three collaborative projects (detailed in the following sections).
Former contributors
- zhenkang, former coordinator and co-founder of the project. Responsible for lore and main contributor to Xiongjing municipality.
- kengoman, responsible for micro-scale mapping and mapper of Qiongzhu province.
- Intergan, mapper of Shidizhuang and surroundings in Dong'an province.
- Hilsonbergman, main contributor of Dunghoigong municipality.
- The_Cute_Chick, co-founder of the project. Responsible for macro-scale mapping of the Empire and mapper of Neilu province.
- Tin Cing, mapper of Huicheng city in Tongbian province.
- poweikao, owner of neighbouring country Kaosha.
- Mtejku222, former/emeritus mapper of the territory.
Geography and influences
The Bai Empire is a large country in Northern Archanta with a subtropical climate. The geographic layout for the Empire (which has been mapped during the former Commonia period) will not drastically change. A mountain range cuts through the central region of the Empire in a general southwest-northeast diagonal, leading to the Muinon mountains in neighbouring Kauscha and Cinasia. Much of the major urban centres will be on the flatter and fertile regions along the north and east coasts, with a generally drier climate on the west region bordering Grinzez. Some of the existing major rivers will not be erased, but their course may be modified accordingly to be topographically consistent. There will also be some changes to the coastline to make them more detailed and natural.
The Bai Empire, however, is located significantly south, with the north coast of the Empire barely crossing the subtropical latitude (around Taiwan). In addition, the Empire is significantly smaller compared to the real-world China (about a quarter). The Bai Empire will take more influences from southern China, such as the Huadong, Huazhong, Huanan, Xinan areas. Of course, the main culture is still Chinese just like the language (Mandarin), but the western regions of Bai would take up other non-Bai languages such as Burmese or Thai.
- Huadong (华东): Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Taiwan
- Huazhong (华中): Hunan, Hubei, Henan
- Xibei (西北): Shaanxi, Gansu
- Huanan (华南): Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau, Guizhou and Hainan
- Xinan (西南): Sichuan, Yunnan
Administrative divisions
The Bai Empire is said to be divided into hundred provinces (hence its name and motto: 百省一心), though a quick overpass check shows the Empire proper has 62 provinces (including the Kaolin Islands). These provinces (省) are then further divided into prefectures (县) and/or other subdivisions. The following documents the administrative areas, and not the "points" of cities and towns.
Province subdivisions (省)
| admin_level= | place= | type | suffix | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | region | 公署 | 公署 | Generally nominal regions, used by government officials for statistical and other purposes, led by viceroys (总督) |
| autonomous regions | 自治区 | 自治公署 | An autonomous region has more legislative rights, such as the right to formulate self-government regulations and other separate regulations, used for non-Bai majority areas such as Baixi Gongshu∈⊾ and the Kyawal-kaw Autonomous Region∈⊾. | |
| 4 | province | 行中书省 | 行省 | Used for province names within Baidi Gongshu∈⊾, historically "direct-controlled" provinces but legally identical to 省. The capital of the province must be a municipality. |
| 省 | 省 | "Regional" provinces, to be named for provinces in the Baizhong Gongshu∈⊾, Bainan Gongshu∈⊾ and Baidong Gongshu∈⊾ regions. The capital of the province must be a municipality. | ||
| territory/area | 地区 | 地区 | Used to define a territory that is sparsely populated (e.g. Xihan), though with similar legal status as provinces. | |
| 6 | municipality | 地级市 | 市 | Population must be more than 1,000,000 people within the municipality itself (not the metro area). |
| prefecture | 县 | 县 | More rural parts of the province. Population must be less than 1,000,000 people. | |
| 7 | city | 市 | 市 | A population center of prefectures, population must be more than 100,000 people within the boundaries (not the metro area) |
| town | 镇 | 镇 | A smaller population center, with a population of more than 10,000 but less than 100,000 people within the boundaries | |
| village | 村 | 村 | Rural areas of prefectures. Population must be less than 10,000 people within the boundaries | |
| 8 | suburb | 区 | 区 | A district inside municipalities. Encompasses the most urban areas. Large non-municipality cities may also have districts. |
| 乡 | 乡 | Rural areas of municipalities. Does not have to exist if the municipality is completely urban. | ||
| 9 | quarter | 街道/社区/村庄 | depending on region | Named residential divisions for tax, election, and other purposes. Around 2,500-5,000 pop. for urban areas, can be less for rural areas. |
| 10 | neighbourhood | no official
names |
N/A | Subdivisions of the previous level for postal purposes. Do not need to be named or even tagged. |
Special Municipalities (院辖行政市)
| admin_level= | place= | type | suffix | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | direct-administered municipality | 院辖市 | 府 | Applies only to Xiongjing, the capital |
| 院 | Other direct-administered municipalities (e.g. Port Dunghoi, Riqing, Jincheng) | |||
| 6 | planning district | 市区 | 市区 | Planning districts, usually covers urbanised area divisions of the city |
| planning town | 县 | 县 | Counties, rural area divisions of the city | |
| 8 | quarter | 街道 | depending on region | Community divisions of a District. Pop. around 50k |
| 乡 | 乡 | Community divisions of a County. Pop. around 25k | ||
| 9 | neighbourhood | 社区 | 社区 | A smaller population center, with a population of more than 10,000 but less than 100,000 people within the boundaries |
History
The history of Bai is long and eventful. In the 12th century, the First Bai Dynasty was established after centuries of divisions and war. It was succeeded by the Suo, after a non-Bai conquest in the 13th to 14th centuries similar to the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. During the Suo, the Bai Empire set out its colonial exploits, establishing new colonies beyond Northern Archanta and Eastern Uletha. These colonisation projects wouldn't last, due to dwindling funds that drained the Empire's economy.
Bai came under Ulethan influence in the 16th century during the Lin Dynasty. Bai gave up many of its colonial possessions through pacts with the West Ulethan colonial powers, which were also given control over parts of the Empire proper. The Middle Bai came in the 17th century, which established the semi-constitutional monarchy. This dynasty was considered the "peak" of modern Bai but collapsed with the rise of radical ideologies such as Bai Fascism and communism.
The War of Fellow Brothers erupted after the fascists gained power and overthrew the monarchy. The fascists waged war with their regional neighbours. While they were eventually put down with a coalition of resistance forces, its collapse led to the Warlord Era, where many factions competed for influence. The New Bai Dynasty only came about in the 1960s, and the Empire rapidly recovered economically to regain its influence in the region.
Commerce and Industry
Main article: Collab:Bai Empire/Commercial businesses
The Bai Empire has a strong economy with moderate levels of development. The capital, Xiongjing, was constructed on a high-altitude plateau with two large lakes during the Middle Bai Dynasty and is the political and cultural centre of the modern Empire. Other major cities include Port Dunghoi, a major industrial port on the east coast of the Empire; Riqing∈⊾, a coastal city similar to Tianjin but Teochew speaking (i.e. Chaozhou in the style of Tianjin); and Jincheng, another master-planned city intended to be a modern economic hub like Shanghai. The interior central and western regions, particularly close to the mountain ranges, will see mining industries that boomed during the industrialisation of Bai.
The Bai Empire, while also having its own large corporations (see the page on its commercial businesses), is also open to foreign businesses. It will be preferable to contact the coordinator for information.
National transport infrastructure
Road network
Main article: Collab:Bai Empire/National roads
The_Cute_Chick has kindly helped sketched the road and rail network in the Bai Empire. Meanwhile, kengoman has drawn up a detailed documentation for the national road mapping convention.
Please bear in mind a few things:
- The Empire is left-hand driving.
- Please do not make drastic changes to the road network without permission.
- If you want to build a cross-country road (whether motorway or normal trunk country road), please message me and I will check on your proposal
- Adhere to the documentation (relinked it here, in case you miss it).
Possible road suffixes:
| Baiyu name | Ingerish name |
|---|---|
| 高速公路 | Expressway |
| 高架路 | Elevated Road |
| 公路 | Highway |
| 环路 | Ring Road |
| 支路 | Side Road / Branch Road |
| 道/大道 | Avenue |
| 街/大街 | Street |
| 胡同 | Hutong |
| 弄 | Alley |
| 支弄 | Branch Alley |
| 巷 | Lane |
| 径 | Path |
Rail network
Main article: Collab:Bai Empire/Railways
The Bai Empire has an extensive network of railways and high speed rail under a hybrid private-public financing framework. Please read the above article for details.
Aviation
The cities and regional centres (those with 市 suffix) usually would have domestic terminals (or small international terminals), while much larger cities (Xiongjing) will have international airports for aviation. I recommend consulting with the coordinator (or kengoman) when it comes to airport mapping in the Empire.
The main national air carrier is BAir (BaiAir) with its subsidiary BAir Transit. Other airlines of Bai include: Fenghuang Airlines (5-star), Air Donghoi (and Air Donghoi Fast Jet), and budget carriers Qiongzhu Island Hopper and Pineapple Airlines.
To-do list
There are plenty of stuff that is needed to be done. Any help is welcomed.
 To do list
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National-level mapping:
Xiongjing (capital):
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