Yuxi

Yuxi is an underground city on the Nanwen-Hydar border, known as the largest underground city in the world, with a population of 700K. It was created initially as a series of large military installations built by the Nanwenese and Hydari governments in the 60s and 70s - due to growing tensions between the two. Nanwen built large networks of bunkers and tunnels where it could rapidly and covertly store munitions and supplies in case of a war with Hydar, as well as relocating populations in the event of possible bombings, chemical or biological warfare. Hydar responded by building its own network of bunkers and tunnels and eventually both grew to encompass thousands of kilometers. As both nations liberalized their economy and opened up to foreign investment the tunnels and bunkers were gradually abandoned. Layoffs and demobilization in both the Hydari and Nanwenese armies led to large segments of military personnel being left behind. They began to set-up the region as a destination for migrant workers to pass through customs and relax during their migrant journeys. Lax immigration and custom processes through the city as compared to the rest of the rather tense Hydari-Nanwenese border led to the tunnels to explode in population across the 90s and 00s. Triad organizations took advantage of the cities strategic location and relative absence of state power to organize illegal drug networks through Yuxi. Similarly, radical Nanwenese intellectuals fled to Yuxi as the Nanwenese government began to ramp up censorship.

Yuxi today poses a significant issue for both the Hydari and Nanwenese governments. On the Hydari side Reza Hydar built large processing stations on the outskirt of Yuxi to handle incoming people and customs. The Hydari government has purged many officials involved with Yuxi and began a series of rather unsuccessful "pacifications". Recently it has cooperated with the Nanwenese government on creating alternating crossing stations but sour relations has meant little progress. On the Nanwense side radical political factions have used Yuxi as a base to spring back to power. While divided between two countries, Yuxi is thought to be ruled by a single administration - as military officials from both sides formed a secret society. The nebulous Yuxi Society for Social Harmony is thought to be the main bastion of order in the cities confines along with cooperating triads. This group has gained notoriety for being one of the major backchannels between Hydar and Nanwen - perhaps explaining why both governments are willing to cooperate with it.

Economically Yuxi is thought to be one of the most unequal cities in the region with a large underclass and a small but extremely rich elite. In recent years the cryptocurrency industry has taken foothold in the city - taking advantage of the lax regulatory environment but also the cheap power from the official national grids of Hydar and Nanwen. Most of Yuxi's official GDP comes from tourism, cryptocurrency, gambling, textile manufacturing, and electronics manufacturing. It is thought to have a large unofficial GDP from the drug trade, and real estate (which doesn't operate under the legal codes of both Hydar and Nanwen). Yuxi is often seen as an autonomous region in all but name - even utilizing its own digital cryptographically backed currency. Property records within Yuxi are recorded on the blockchain.

Yuxi has developed a unique culture due to its unique circumstances. It has its own cuisine developing out of the unique circumstances it arose in. Yuxi cuisine is very spartan - mostly relying on processed MRE style meals or ramen. One popular dish is army base stew where cheap sausage is combined with ramen pepper powder and dried anchovies to produce a noodle dish. The music scene from Yuxi is very unique - with mostly hard metal and punk bands emerging to express the discontent of young migrant workers. Yuxiline is one of the most popular Yuxi bands - as well as the definitive standard for "Yuxi Punk" - with songs such as Single Beat or She. In recent years hip hop and electronica have been picking steam. Yuxi has the largest proportion of cryptocurrency users in any city within Anterra as the "official" current - the Yuxi Yuan is a digital currency backed by reserves of Byatkoyn. Byatkoyn can also be used to pay taxes. Many mobile gaming studios are based in Yuxi due to the cheap rents and fast internet. Ironically despite its relative poverty Yuxi has high levels of internet penetration and extremely fast internet speeds.