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-Gain (Town) (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.

Structure

Each district' administration is headed by a Partodane, with law enforcement in the hands of a Subellaune and local judiciary led by a Microbret. 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.

Economy

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.

Religion

The courtyard of the Omphalonémète, 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 Omphalonémète, 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.