Vives-Eaux

Vives-Eaux 春水 Chūn Shuǐ
Capital city
The Oppidum, the business district of Vives-Eaux
Country	Shang Fa
Prefecture	Vives-Eaux
District	24 districcts
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Body	Boule
• Ecclesiaste	Pierre Duroy
• Proèdre	Amélie Djèngue
Elevation	5 m (16 ft)
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,500,274
Demonym	Aquiprimian

Vives-Eaux, also known by its Huranian name of Chunshui or by its ancient name of Primevoire d'Aix is the capital city of Shang Fa and its most populated city. Originally a simple fishermen town, the agglomeration' location near the mouth of the Queen River, the largest and longest waterway of Hurania, made it the focus of attention from Auressian, and more importantly Blaykish, traders in the 16th century, quickly developing the town into a trade port and the hub between the Lin Dynasty and Auressia.

After the establishment of the Tan Dynasty and the colonial wars in the Sea of Qes, Chenshui became a de-facto Blaykish and Principean city, with many factories exporting lacquerware, silk, and manufactured products to the rest of the Blaykish Empire, in exchange for spices, luxury goods, and precious metals from the new world.

As such, after the creation of the Great Covenant, Vives-Eaux was naturally chosen as the location of the Megodoquole, the council of representatives from every Principean colony and factory in northern Huran. The Megodoquole would continue to amass power until the Social War (1861 - 1870) which led to the establishment of the Fa Dynasty. Vives-Eaux remained the capital of the new regime, securing its position as the new heart of the region for the centuries to come.

Etymology

Chūnshuǐ is the official romanization of the Huranian name 春水. The name of the city seems to come from the ancient names of two plots of farmlands that were originally turned into the city' first meeting place : the Spring and Autumn Fields. A system of canals and waterways connected this place to the Queen River on the "Spring side" of the plaza, and it's around these waterways that most of the city would end up developing, taking the name of the canal network : "Spring waters".

The city was first known to the Principeans traders as Chounsouhaye as a litteral retranscription of the Huranian name. But as more and more settlers arrived in the trade port, they began translating more directly the Huranian characters and began using Aix-Primevoire-en-Ourane in an official capacity, then shortened into Aix Primevoire or Primevoire d'Aix. But already, in the more popular districts of the city, the habit had settled of calling it Vivedaix or, alternatively, Vives-Eaux. It's finally this second spelling that would win, and the city would be officially renamed to it after Armand Dupic coronation as King Hegemon in an effort to rectify names across the kingdom.

Geography

Vives-Eaux is located near the Estuary of the Queen River, The land is formed by the river's natural deposition and modern land reclamation projects. As such, it has sandy soil, and skyscrapers have to be built with deep concrete piles to avoid sinking into the soft ground.

The city is located on an alluvial plain. As such, the vast majority of its land area is flat, with an average elevation of 5 m. Tidal flat ecosystems exist around the estuary, however, they have long been reclaimed for agricultural purposes. Vives-Eaux's few hills lie directly to its south with its highest peak, the Colline-à-Charbon, separate the old core of the city from the Hegemon Palatial Complex.

Politics

Administrative divisions

Vives-Eaux is divided into 24 Districts (區; Qū) and while each has its own urban core, the city hall and major administrative units are located either in Primeverre-et-Grain (春秋區; chūn qiū qū), which also serves as a commercial area, or in Auguste (皇區; Huáng qū) which is centered around the Hegemon palatial complex, the Palace of Rebirth.

Structure

Official Residence of the Ecclesiaste

Each district' administration is headed by a Partodane, with law enforcement in the hands of a Subellaune and local judiciary led by a Dicaste. Each are delegates appointed by their respective superiors at the city' level : the Arioparte for the administration, the Vellaune for the police, and the Bretodane for the judiciary. Both the Arioparte and the Vellaune are themselves under the leadership of the Ecclesiaste, whom is helped in the day-to-day handling of the city by the Boule, presided by the Proèdre.

The Ecclesiaste of Vives-Eaux is elected indirectly by the city's voters. The voters of each of the 24 Districts instead elect members to the Boule which subsequently elects the mayor. The allocated numbers of seats to a district depends on its population, with an average of 5 seats per District for a total of 121 seats. Elections are done under the principles of a Closed list Proportional representation single-round system. Seats are distributed to all lists which won at least 5% of the votes using the Highest averages method.

Judiciary and procuracy

the Palace of Rebirth (更生宫; gēng shēng gōng)

In each district there is a Microbrete. In these courts of first instance, proceedings are conducted based on oral testimony and arguments, and, unlike in higher courts, legal counsel is not mandatory. But its rulings may be appealed to Vives-Eaux ' appelate court, the Rebrete. The Rebrete is located in the Outer Southern Wing of the Palace of Rebirth, in the Auguste District, which is also the royal residence and the location of Shang Fa Supreme Court (in the Inner Northern Wing).

The most infamous prison of Vives-Eaux remain the Petite-Porte which became a location of ill-repute as the place where political opponents in the early days of the Fa Dynasty and later during the Pingyou Decade were sent to disappear. Nowadays, there is only two remaining penitentiary in Vives-Eaux : the remand center of Bonne-Saison and the jails of the Palace of Rebirth itself. The latter sole purpose is to hold convicted prisoners awaiting a retrial, making Bonne-Saison to sole permanent penitentiary of the city. The other prisons associated with Vives-Eaux are nowadays located far outside the city's limits.

Police force

First Bataillon Justice Guard during combat training.

The security of the city is mainly the responsibility of the Police Commandery of Vives-Eaux, a subdivision of the Security Ministry. It supervises the units of the Dynastic Police who patrol the city and the three neighbouring prefectures. It is also responsible for providing emergency services, including firefighters. Its headquarter is still officially located in the old Place d'Automne, although most of its administration has been relocated to Tour-Reine new police center, which finished construction in 2015. There are currently 30,000 police officers under the city's Vellaune command.

Beside the police, both the Maréchaussée and the Justice Guards have a strong presence in Vives-Eaux. The former are mostly represented by their special branch of the Bayares, which provides guards of honour and actual security for both the executive and the legislative in Vives-Eaux. Meanwhile, the latter, nicknamed the Feather Forest, is a para-military unit under direct royal command and also tasked with providing an honor guard and actual security, but for the legislative branch of the government. It is also tasked with enforcing court decisions and supervising the country's prisons. The First, Third, and Fifteen Regiments are the Justice Guard' units affected to Vives-Eaux Prefecture.

Economy

Vives-Eaux port' Petrochemical Terminal

Vives-Eaux is the national center for finance, commerce, trade, and transportation with the country's busiest container port. The city has a post-industrial economy that is dominated by the tertiary sector (services), which generated 87.9% of output, followed by the secondary sector (manufacturing, construction) at 11.3% and the primary sector (agriculture, mining) at 0.7%. In total, Vives-Eaux' economic output represent 22% of Shang Fa' total GDP. It's six largest industries —retail, finance, IT, real estate, machine manufacturing, and automotive manufacturing— comprise about half the city's GDP.

the average annual disposable income of Shang Fa' residents was the national highest, making it the wealthiest cities in Shang Fa, but also the most expensive city to live in.

Demographics

As of 2020 Vives-Eaux had a population of 3,500,274 registered inhabitants. Based on the population of its total administrative area, Vives-Eaux is the largest municipality of Shang Fa. A position only reinforced by taking into account its total metropolitan area, which include between 412 to 1,794 communes for around 11 to 14 million people, slightly more than a ninth of the total population of the Dynasty.

As per the law, census in Shang Fa do not ask any ethnic or religious question. However, they do collect data about places of birth and origin, which makes it possible to assert that Vives-Eaux is the main destination of domestic immigration in Shang Fa. Around half of the city's residents were born in other regions of the country.

People born in foreign countries without the Legal Citizenship at birth are counted in official census as migrants. According to the Vives-Eaux' statistic bureau, about 317,900 residents within the 24 Districts and 1,240,134 in the greater urban area. 21,900 immigrants were from Amandine, 28,900 from Selajung, 67,078 from Northern Auressia.

Religion

The courtyard of the Medionémète, the oldest still standing religious building in Vives-Eaux

Due to its cosmopolitan history, Vives-Eaux has a blend of religious heritage; religious buildings and institutions are scattered around the city. In census, only people belonging to an organized religion, meaning members of its clergy, are counted as being of that religion. This was one of the many reforms introduced in the 1950s - 1960s decades to better reflect the census to the habits of Shang Fa' population. In this case, to match the fact that most of the country' citizens can be involved in one or multiple religions while also worshipping nature deities or respecting traditional ancestor veneration.

Around 10% of Vives-Eaux metropolitan population is at the very least initiated to a Perendist institution and can be expected to partake solely in religious activities related to the "Religion of the Earth" (地教; dìjiào). Macakkanism, both of the old and new law, represent another 20% of the population. Finally, a number of Neo-Macakkanists, salvationists cults compete for followers, but the largest of these "new schools" remain the Redempting Path (道救贖; Dào Jiùshú) or Jiuism (救教;jiùiào) with 5% of the population proclaiming its adherence to the sect.

While New Law Macakkanism was present, and even dominant, in the region of Vives-Eaux since the days of the Alawokambese hegemony, urban development only really took off after the foundation of a Mission by Nicolas Bertrand D'Arixomage, the Médionémète, which still exist to this day, and the concession of the city as free port to the Blaykish Empire. Apostolic Perendism then became the dominant religion of the new city, a position that was only contested after two centuries of rural exodus which brought new populations within the city, and with them their own religious practices and cults.

Jiuism grew in Shang Fa in the decades preceding the Social War and has known a period of popularity in Vives-Eaux at the turning of the previous century, especially among the city's elites. With half a million of adherents, it remain the city's largest "cult", and has a far reaching influence through its members' own networks or through those who are interested in the Redempting Path, participating in its ceremonies and festivities, without joining officially the organisation.

Culture

Language

Eastern Standard Principean is the official language of Vives-Eaux, just as it is for Shang Fa as a whole. Principean culture is especially present in Vives-Eaux, moreso than almost anywhere else in the country, and so despite the complete abandon by Principean speakers of the Sabarine alphabet in favor of Literary Huranian a written language that can no longer be spoken but still be understood no matter the reader' language. As a result, the Principean' pronounciations of the city' places and streets names is hidden behind this wényán, this "Text Speech".

Even though Vives-Eaux, alongside areas like the Calandes Prefecture, is one of the few places in the country where native Principean-speakers can be found, most of the population instead speak "Simplified" or "Broken" Principean, a form of Patois developed by the lower classes of Huranian origin. While Simplified Principean has received official recognition, its speakers still face considerable stigmatization, even moreso than speakers of Huranian dialects (including Tartares).

Simplified Principean, as a form of creole between Principean and Huranian, sharing sonority and tonality with the latter while keeping the grammar and etymology of the former. For example, the Simplified Standard' name of Vives-Eaux is Wízǒ and is commonly referred to as such, even in Huranian and outside of the city' borders.

Cuisine

Pain du Printemps, the iconic bread of Vives-Eaux

Due to Vives-Eaux cosmopolitan nature, many styles cohabit and mix together in Vives-Eaux restaurants, with inspirations from all over Surucia, Auressia, and Marceaunia. There's an heavy focus on seafood and dumplings, consumed by every social classes of the city. Beside fishes and molluscs, the most popular meats are mutton and beef.

The most popular alcoholic beverage in Vives-Eaux remain, without question, wine. Viticulture was introduced in Huran by the secondwave of Principean migrants, and a non-negligeable proportion of all wines drank in Vives-Eaux were produced within Shang Fa borders. However, Vives-Eaux is still a net importer of Auressian wines, which are better considered by local gastronomes and restaurants. However, a Shangese speciality easily found in Vives-Eaux is Anchunese Ice wine. Tartare Cheese are also popular product in Vives-Eaux, and so is yoghurt, generally eaten with biscuits and dried fruits.

Places of Interests

The Aquatic Residence

At the historical heart of Vives-Eaux is the Aquatic Residence (水宫; shuǐgōng), the oldest palatial complex of the city. Since its creation, the Residence has been home to the Megodoquole. It had become the incarnation of the Great Covenant moreso than any individual could and since the establishment of the Fa Dynasty it remained a powerful symbol of liberalism and Civil and political rights in an otherwise authoritarian regime. Despite the mutations of the regime and the changes known by the Megodoquole, the Aquatic Residence and its gardens remain a strong national symbol for the Dynasty' citizens.

Directly to the east of the Aquatic Residence, sharing a park with it, the Ecclesiaste Residence can be found.

Pringrain Square

The Aquatic Residence was built on the southern side of the Place Pringrain, the original marketplace that once served as the hub around which Vives-Eaux was built. The plaza has since been expanded and reconfigured to fit the needs of the following regime. From a trading place, it became a monumental space suitable for the newly established Fa Dynasty' need for grandiose displays of state power. Since then, most of the Plaza has been turned into a Huraner style park, populated with various monuments celebrating the Dynasty' history. The place name in the Simplified Standard also became its common nickname : Píngìn. The plaza also ended up giving its name to the central district of Vives-Eaux : Primeverre-et-Grain (春秋區; chūn qiū qū).

Many other example of Hurano-Principean architecture can be found around the plaza, such as the Bourse d'Hurane and or the Gallerie des Vents, where most of the commercial activities of the plaza were relocated after its reconfiguration.

The Companion Halls

To the north of the plaza, paved over the ancient canals, the Companions Halls (伴堂; bàntáng) were erected in 1899 to host the Comitelle, the lower house of Shang Fa' legislature. This monumental building was originally designed to allow as many citizens as possible to come and witness the deliberations of the Deputies. The Halls also have their own network of gardens and parks, around which can be found buildings also tied to the Comitelle, either because they're administrative in nature, such as the Archives, or because their purpose is to host comitees, work sessions, temporary residences for guests invited by the Comitelle or Deputies with no place in Vives-Eaux, or just as general offices and meetings buildings. It's within this "Palatial Complex" that the Bayares, the Legilative' Honor Guard of the Fa Dynasty, have their General Headquarters.

Section of an old canal in Reservoir District

North of Primeverre-et-Grain lie the District of Reservoir (水库區; shuǐ kù qū) and its still-standing traditional canals connecting it to the Queen River. Nicknamed Wǐkǎn by locals or "the floating city" by foreigners and tourists, it is home to many canals, waterways, and historical gardens that can still be toured and visited. These canals original purpose was to link together the port and the city center but as the city grew, many were paved over and the land was repurposed as a residential area. During the 20th century, efforts were made by locals and touristic promoters to save what was left of the district' canals and gardens, preserving and developing Reservoir' image both nationwide and internationaly.

East of Primeverre-et-Grain is Arixomage District, so named after Nicolas Bertrand D'Arixomage who founded the Médionémète around which the rest of the District organized itself. The Médionémète was originally a Perendist Mission and a school and is the oldest religious building still standing in Vives-Eaux. As the city grew, so did the Médionémète which is now a temple complex, merging architectural and religious influences from both Huran and Auressia. The parks and gardens of the religious center are notably used to grow the plants required for the Anointments ubiquituous to Perendism.

Exterior of a Lilong residence in Arixomage District

While the Perendist Church of Huran is still in communion with the Sabarine Apostolic Church and its Dicere, the Médionémète is dedicated to the Mother-Earth, understood as the physical manifestation of God following the Perendist Orthodoxy. Arixomage' synthesis of Perendism' dogma and Huranese culture was mainly the reason behind the religion' success in northern Huran, to the point that the Médionémète is now considered an important site of pilgrimage for Perendists and Earth cultists of the region, with Vives-Eaux gathering million of tourists and pilgrims during important Perendists festivities.

The rest of Arixomage District has retained a very distinct appearance, characterized by its lilong, or "lane houses", with a specific architectural style characteristic to Vives-Eaux that combine Auressian and Huranese influences. These residences were originally initiatives taken to house the influx of Huranese migrants coming to Vives-Eaux in the decades following the end of the Former Tan and the establishment of the Great Covenant. More Huranese lilong can be found in other districts of the city, built by said migrants themselves thus retaining a more Hua style. All these surviving residential areas are now popular touristic spots for people interested in the charm and architectural wealth of 19th century Shang Fa.

The southern limit of Primeverre-et-Grain is formed by the Colline-à-Charbon (煤炭山), also nicknamed Chàbōmōn, the highest elevation point of the city and an artificial hill built by the accumulation of the materials dragged out during the construction of the city' canal network. Covered by a park, the hill separate Primeverre-et-Gain from Vives-Eaux other important center of power : the District of Auguste. Just as the Arixomage District was built around the Médionémète, Auguste was built around the Palace of Rebirth (更生宫; gēng shēng gōng), the main residence of the Dynasty' Monarch and nowaday the headquarter of Shang Fa' Judiciary, hosting its Supreme Court.

Media

Vives-Eaux and its close suburbs is home to numerous newspapers, magazines and publications. The well-known Levant News is the centrepiece of the city' publishing industry. Publications primarily aimed at international visitors and the expatriate community include the Prime Time and Aix Info newspapers.

PrimeTV broadcasts on channels 1 through 10 and NeidiTV, the largest television network in Shang Fa, maintains its headquarters in Vives-Eaux. Radio Huran, the Dynasty' public radio broadcaster, and its various channels, is headquartered in Vives-Eaux as well, and so does Relat, the Dynasty' postal service.