Fengtianmen

Fengtianmen (Phoenician: 奉天門, : Fèngtiānmén, : Houtenmon) is the holiest city in Infernalism and the capital of Fengjiang. Having a population of 5,442,671 as of 2022, it is the 18th largest city in Fengjiang. However, pilgrims regularly double this population every year when observing their pilgrimage to the city. It is located in Central Fengjiang, primarily lying along the source of the Fengquan River on the northeastern face of Mount Fengwo - the highest point in both Fengjiang and the world at 11,479.88 meters tall.

Fengtianmen is considered the "beacon and cradle of Infernalism". It is revered as the location where Yanshizu -  of the religion - when she guided her first followers to lay tribute at the foot of Mount Fengwo around the 1000s BCE. The Rope to Heaven used by Yanshizu in her ascent into heaven is believed to lie at the summit of Mount Fengwo, making it the holiest location in Infernalism. It is thus the direction towards which Infernalists are required to pray during worship. While Infernalist pilgrims are commanded to and scale Mount Fengwo at least once in their life, they are strictly prohibited from reaching the summit itself, an honor reserved only for the Scions of Yanshizu - believed to be her reincarnations on Tellurus. Therefore, all pilgrims generally end their ascent at the Pilgrim's Lookout, a roughly flat area about 10,000 meters above sea level where the Wangfeng Monastery, the second holiest monastery in the faith, is located. While allowed to enter Fengtianmen itself, non-Infernalists are prohibited from scaling Mount Fengwo on pain of torturous death.

Despite its extreme altitudes, Fengtianmen served as the capital of the Matriarchy of Fengjiang throughout the first millennium BCE. The city's secular importance dwindled as the Matriarchy expanded beyond its mountainous confines and settled on more fertile lands downriver, especially so as its status as a political center was supplanted by the city of Yidu when the latter became the capital of the Regency, later Empire of Fengjiang in the first millennium CE. When the Empire collapsed into civil war during the Great Fragmentation, Fengtianmen and surrounding rural areas became neutral ground uninvolved in the conflict due to its religious and cultural primacy. It was the site of various summits and treaties signed during the war, and would be where the conflict was ended during the First Fengtianmen Congress of 1810, where it was declared de jure capital of a nominally reunified Fengjiang. It would remain the summit grounds of the decennial Fengtianmen Congresses, notably hosting the Sixteenth Fengtianmen Congress where Fengjiang's constituent governments were dissolved and replaced by the Corporate Forum.

Fengtianmen is home to the Yuedi Monastery, the seat of the Infernalist the Scion of the Divine Phoenix Ascendant and the Imperial House of the Vermilion Crown which she heads, the   nominally ruling Fengjiang since Fengtianmen's first establishment in antiquity. The city receives millions of pilgrims and tourists annually, resultantly seeing a tremendous expansion in size and infrastructure despite its extreme altitudes. Fengtianmen Station is one of the most travelled stations on the Xinzhulian, the network of Fengjiang. As civilian air traffic is strictly prohibited in the airspace above Mount Fengwo, surrounding mountains, and thus Fengtianmen itself, the international airport of Xiangfeng - the closest airport to the city - is one of the busiest in the country.

Demographics
There are 5,442,671 citizens of Yutseng as of 2022, making it the 18th largest city in Fengjiang.

International relations
Fengtianmen is the seat of the Yuedi Monastery, the holiest Sanctuary of Infernalism.

Sister cities
Under the Fengtianmen Holiest Program, Fengtianmen is twinned with X city as of 2023. • 1

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