Little Asia
Key Sites
Bonsai Gardens (mini-mall)
One story underground and a hundred thousand square feet involves the Bonsai Gardens. Completed in 1982 and expanded up until 1994, this mini-mall hosts a number of popular retail merchants. The main halls are inlaid with a cherry-brown panel design. The corridors are wide enough to hold comfortable seats and benches for patrons. The northernmost point even boasts a fountain and pool. Many toss pennies into this water to make their wishes. The halls also hold various small merchants who sell personal hobbies or crafts. Quiet pop music plays over the loudspeaker and the odd security guard patrols. The stores in Bonsai Gardens include Hallmark, the Dollar Tree, JC Penny, The Gap, Sam Goody, Walden Books, Piercing Pagoda, Kay Jeweler’s, and many more. The east end of the mall provides a fast food court. In a sad effort to “culturalize” the Western-style mall to the district in which it was built, a few Oriental food establishments are present. Suffice to say, “California rolls” sums all of Bonsai Gardens up well. Nonetheless, it is a convenient and popular shopping place in Little Asia.
OOC: The mall is open from 10 AM to 9 PM Sunday through Friday, and open to 10 PM on Saturday. Every store has its own security measures, plus the mall is locked up tightly and has a night watchman.
Zone: Business Zone
Wall: 8
Dairin, inc. (corporate tower)
Much like its neighbors, the Dairin Tower extends far above the surface. Elevators and stairs guide employees up and down twenty-eight floors. Dairin's furnishings are cold and sparse, delivering the feel sterility. This is not uncommon for a company that builds computers and software technology. Like the other corporate towers, Dairin, Inc. limits its doors to employees alone. Visitors are permitted only for appointments with executives, to better prevent work disturbance and industrial espionage. The exterior boasts its own modern beauty. Cold, white marble and glass sheath the edifice, often blinding gawkers who glance at the structure at the wrong time of a sunny day. Even the base of the building seems aloof from color and nature. Sheer pavement surrounds the tower, a modern sculpture of bronze standing before the glass doors. Dairin, Inc., seems to welcome only those who dedicate themselves to its serious business of technology. This is no place to dawdle.
OOC: Dairin's doors are open from 8:30 AM to 9 PM everyday. However, only employees may enter beyond the receptionary without an appointment. Security is quite efficient. Although most would suspect that Dairin, like most corporations, is controlled by one faction of shen or another, it is not. It is a self-made Japanese business; this tower is its Midwestern outpost. It is completely run by normal human beings who happen to be very slick businessmen. Out of luck or something else, they've avoided direct control by supernatural powers. (No, they aren't a branch of Pentex, either.)
Zone: Business Zone
Wall: 9
International Bank of Beijing (corporate tower/kuei-jin base)
See the link to the left on kuei-jin.
Zone: Business Zone
Wall: 8/7/6/4
Jin Zhangpeng (corporate tower)
Thirty-six whopping stories above the street, the Golden Pavilion is a gold-plated beacon of industry, influence, and the self-made financial power of the East. This outpost of one of Hong Kong's biggest corporate conglomerates maintains its united policies and ambitions. Corporations of every color sit on the Jin Zhangpeng's board, and businessmen and women of all kinds commute to this skyscraper daily. Well-known for its excellent business ethics, the Golden Pavilion often draws the ire of other corporations who couldn't succeed without more shady tactics. And yet, the building still stands. Its workers still confess loyalty to the operation. The interior design of the Golden Pavilion boasts the conglomerate's appreciation of the finer side of life and Chinese culture. Black leather rests side-by-side with gorgeous tapestries and prints. Elevators and escalators make negotiating the building's height easy. Room labels are written in both English and Chinese. Like the rest of Little Asia: East meets West.
OOC: The doors are open to the public although most business executives and employees operate by appointment only. The place is very busy from the moment it opens at 9 AM until it closes at 9 PM. Lights often beam out of windows well past 9 PM, however, as workers stay late to complete their work. Security is highly professional in the Golden Pavilion. The Jin Zhangpeng is a conglomerate of businesses in which many different factions of shen have interest (despite any supernatural clash of beliefs), such as the Wan Kuei and the Chinese Syndicate. However, the Boli Zouiszhe (Asian Glass Walkers) firmly control the board of directors in Hong Kong, as well as the operating board here in Little Asia. Many of the top executives are Kinfolk...or Garou.
Zone: Business Zone
Wall: 8
Public Welfare & Immigration Center (welfare offices)
Amidst the multi-story buildings lies a humble tribute to the power of state and federal compassion. The Public Welfare & Immigration Center welcomes newcomers from Asia and helps the destitute get on their feet. A variety of other social programs benefits Little Asians through these offices, too. The outer building is fresh brick, squat but shaped like the letter "L". A parking lot surrounds all sides of the building, and some lawn and flora beautifies the area overall. A carpeted corridor leads visitors to a receptionist. From there, the appropriate program's office will welcome the person. Of course, sometimes a person must make an appointment with the very busy welfare workers. But every case is heard and every problem dealt with as best as the office can. Funding from the government comes steadily for now.
Offices include general welfare (cash, medical, and food stamp assistance), immigration adaptation services, child care aid, and job search assistance. Recently, a PPC (Protection Program for Children) office was established here. Locally-acclaimed as an excellent private service to help locate lost and even kidnapped children, the PPC hears all grievances and child abuse claims, investigating such claims as concerned private citizens. The PPC is a volunteer-only program, whereas most of the other welfare offices are state-paid employees. Working in any of the offices demands at least a two year college degree and fluency in at least one Oriental language.
OOC: The Center is open from 8 AM to 5 PM every weekday. There are no security measures besides lock and key. There's nothing that's really worth stealing or breaking into here for.
Zone: Business Zone
Wall: 9
