User:Zhenkang/Bai architecture and urban planning

This article serves more as an essay on Chinese architecture and urban planning, which is to aid in mapping realistic towns and cities in the Bai Empire.

Abstract

The layout of imperial cities varies by dynasties. The Early Hàn capital of Xī’ān is striking for the size of its multiple imperial palaces, taking up the majority of the space within the city walls such as the Weiyang and Changle palaces. Cáo Cāo’s capital of Yèchéng still devotes a quarter of the territory to the palace, but the size of the non-palace section suggests that Chinese cities had developed into more than administrative centers. Táng Xī’ān had a single palace area, with the administrative sector at the south and imperial gardens at the north. The city was neatly divided into wards by a grid of streets, no less than 100 m wide. Wards were themselves walled, and the gates were closed at night. Ward and city walls were of packed earth, not stone. Older dynasties had walled blocks inside larger cities as defense was the first priority.