The Celestial Empire of Shanyang is a gargantuan, efficient nation, ruled by Huangdi with an iron fist, and notable for its rampant corporate plagiarism, infamous sell-swords, and pith helmet sales. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless, devout population of 15.599 billion Celestials are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The large, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized government prioritizes Defense, with Education, Administration, and Industry also on the agenda. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Shanyang. The average income tax rate is 99.1%.

The frighteningly efficient Shanyangian economy, worth a remarkable 5,790 trillion Nakfas a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is an enormous, deeply entrenched, fairly diversified black market in Arms Manufacturing, Information Technology, and Tourism. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is an amazing 371,234 Nakfas, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 1,227,459 per year while the poor average 83,933, a ratio of 14.6 to 1.

Being sent to collections is more dangerous than ever, military information leaks are **REDACTED** by **REDACTED** in **REDACTED**, Shanyang isn't what it used to be, and the nation is committed to nuclear rearmament. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Shanyang's national animal is the Heavenly Catfish, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans, and its national religion is Tianism.

Shanyang is ranked 4,379^th in the world and 9^th in The Alliance of Dictators for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 598.2 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.