Chūqù Wán
Perhaps the most of Xiang Feng most outsiders see, Chūqù Wán is a frontier settlement built along the coast where the steep mountains of Xiang Feng meets both the rest of Dath and the Devouring Sea. It was originally settled by outcasts and bandits before developing into what some consider the gateway into Xiang Feng.
Chūqù Wán is known to travelers as the Hanging City for many reasons. Visitors marvel at its cliffside rope bridges and gawk at its many hanging prison cells, temporary homes to ruffians, spies, thieves, and, worst of all, gambling cheats. She is a city built on vice; her two true loves are food and gaming, and she overindulges in both. Ruled by a fat, charismatic overlord whose wealth and fabled skill at games draws enthusiasts from across the land, Chūqù Wán is a crossroads for some and a destination for others.
Most buildings in Chūqù Wán are cut into the high, gray walls of the river canyon, between thirty and sixty feet off the ground. Their entrances are linked together by rope bridges and bamboo scaffolding, whose precarious footing can prove treacherous to the unwary. People approaching Chūqù Wán from the busy river landings must either be hoisted up in cages or lifts, or climb many stories of rope-and-plank stairs.
Travelers coming overland must descend narrow, treacherous stairways meant to funnel and obstruct attackers in the event of a siege. Guests in Chūqù Wán might encounter great hospitality and luxury, or squalid ruin. The city was built in and above ancient caves, some of which were once home to a variety of monsters. In other areas, tombs and shrines were carved into the cliffs by later residents.
Most of these caverns, both natural and chiseled, now have wooden fronts and anterooms affixed to the cliffs outside. Inside, the repurposed temples are decorated with gaudy fabric and fancy furniture to create a feeling of casual luxury that has become synonymous with Chūqù Wán .
At its highest point, far above the river, the city is posh and palatial. In its middle reaches, bustling
throngs crowd into low-ceilinged gaming dens, smoky taverns, and paper-walled teahouses. In the lowest areas, poor travelers and beaten-down residents throw stones and dice to test their luck, catch fish in the sluggish river, and sometimes disappear into the network of caves at the waterline, never to be seen again.
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