Shankoucun is a village on the Ba Sing Se Highway, just inside the borders of the northern Earth Kingdom province of Shanbei. As reflected in its name, the nearby mountain pass between the Chief Peak and Northern Barrier Mountains is important to its history and economy; the village is host to many inns and other service-oriented businesses catering to travelers, such as winehouses, markets, fortune-tellers, physicians, scribes, warehouses, brokers, brothels, and stables. An official of the Hao Ting presides over a yamen and small barracks charged with defending fortifications at the mountain pass, but the fortifications are in a state of disrepair and the soldiers have mostly been taken by northern warlords such as General Yi, leaving the town with only a half-dozen city guards. Ethnically, the town is mostly Zhongzu and Beituzhu, with some Yonggan and Ganjinese.
