Chun-Nan



Chun-Nan (Dragon Road) (ドラゴン·ロード) is the fictional location of the one of the levels in Sonic Unleashed. It is based on Chinese-type tradition and appearance and also features tall pagodas and a run across what looks like the Great Wall of China. Sonic and Chip come here, only to find that Zonshen, the Village Elder, is missing. When they find him, Sonic has to face the Dark Gaia Phoenix, which was actually the guardian of the Gaia Temple, but it went into a fit of rage when the Chaos Emeralds lost their power.

This small town in the mountains has passed down its pork bun recipe for generations.

Appearance and Characteristics
The daytime stages in Chun-Nan are bright but overcast. They appear to be set against a coastal mountain backdrop, featuring lantern-lit caverns and darkened water. The player travels on a winding set of pathways that weave in and out of various pagoda-style areas, and also slides along the water many times. Environmental hazards include giant spears that fall from the sky and the threat of losing momentum while skimming the water. A notable effect during the day stages is a brief section where Sonic runs through a cloud of petals falling from cherry trees that border the path.

The nighttime stages have clearer skies and focus more on the mountainous aspects of the area. While the player does have to face water (one of the stages centers around scaling an enormous waterfall), the more frequent danger is falling into crevasses between small plateaus. The temple structure takes a somewhat backseat role as Sonic travels deeper into the mountains, but the pagodas and long roads remain prominent along the pathway.

Gameplay
The day stages of Chun-Nan focus on platforming somewhat more heavily than the other continents, with rotating platforms and careful aiming at boost rings. There are also sections that make use of the short vaulting maneuver in a kind of reverse steeplechase. There is more water-skimming here than in any other stage in the game, even Adabat. This is also the only stage to feature branching pathways that can only be reached using the skimming technique.

The nighttime stages introduce the concept of burning enemies, which require Sonic to dump a barrel of water on them before he can attack properly. In keeping with this theme, the end boss of the nighttime area is a giant, flaming phoenix.

Notable Locations
In the point-and-click HUB world of the Wii version, many of the featured parts of Chun-Nan are shown. These spots include:
 * Restaurant
 * Lantern Herbal Shop
 * Waterflow Way
 * Street Bench
 * The Back Gate
 * Sacred Shrine (as Sonic the Werehog)
 * The restaurant location was featured in a Kung Fu Panda parody featuring Sonic and Chip

Citizens
34. Zonshen (ゾンシェン) - A walking treasure trove of medical knowledge who can supposedly cure any ailment. Unfortunately, much to his irritation, Zonshen's arms aren't quite long enough for him to cure his own chronic back pain. Zonshen is the village elder and the guardian of Chun-Nan's Gaia Gate. Sonic and Chip had to rescue him from the Dark Gaia Phoenix and he later helped them in their mission.

35. Lin (リン) - A meat bun pro who has been serving them up for 90 years now. Technically, Lin is retired, having passed the extent of her bun-craft on to her only daughter, Jinlin. Decades of customer interaction have made her an excellent judge of character; she only needs one glance.

36. Shuifon (シュイフォン) - A painfully indecisive man who happens to harbor a secret. Someone dressed in black has been snooping around his house lately. Or maybe not; Shuifon is sort of hazy about the details.

37. Wang (ワン) - Lin's son-in-law, who works at the pork bun shop. The village's famous buns have always been whipped up by the ladies, who won't let him comes anywhere near the kitchen. Then again, Wang knows how strict Lin can be about her product, so he's perfectly content with being stuck behind the counter.

38. Jinlin (ジンリン) - Lin's only daughter, who has recently been initiated into the family meat bun business. Since then, she has been busy every day, churning out one bun after another. Jinlin's goal is to further evolve the craft before passing the shop down to her own daughter, Hualin.

39. Hualin (ワーリン) - Jinlin and Wang's daughter. Hualin was born into a family of bun-makers, and as you might imagine, she is thoroughly bunned out. She has switched to an all-vegetable diet ("for my complexion!" she says) in hopes of reversing a lifetime of meat bun damage while still of marriageable age.

40. Chun (チュン) - Zonshen grandson and a noteble meat bun consumer, who one day when he gets older, hopes to be a profesional Meat Bun critic who gets to eat them all day. Because of his Meat Bun Obsession Chun who grown ecceptionaly (at least horizontally).

41. Yilin (イーリン) - For as long as she can remember, she has been obsessed with hide-and-seek. Yilin has been known to stay hiding for days at a time, so challenging her requires a special kind of fortitude.

42. Hot Dog Vendor - The manager of the "Don Faccho" hot dog mega-franchise's Chun-nan location. The sketchiest vendor in the biz, he freely admits to lacing his dogs with "secret herbs" for added nutrition and vitamins.

Town Products
In each town across the world, Sonic is able to buy souvenirs, food items and extras (music, videos) using his rings. The Chun-nan shop, run by Wang, is called Wang's Emporium.

Souvenirs

 * Photo Frame: "Ah, this is a picture frame from Chun-nan. The stunning landscape of the photo goes well with the red lacquered woodwork of the frame, hmm?"
 * Miniature Flag: "This is the flag of Chun-nan. The bird depicted is a sacred beast said to watch over the nation's people."
 * Censer: "This implement is used to perfume the air. You place pieces of aromatic plants and what-have-you inside and light the censer to release the scent. Yes, it is very relaxing."
 * Lantern: "This is used as a light. My, isn't this craftsmanship simply tremendous? Just put a candle inside, hang it up, and voila! You're in the Far East!"
 * This souvenir is bought from Wentos.
 * Urn: "I'm sure you've noticed the lovely painting on the exterior? Well, that was all done by hand. Let's handle this with care, shall we? I'd hate to see it wind up broken."

Food

 * Lin's Meat Buns (60 rings): "The famous steamed buns Lin's been whipping up for 90 years at same price."
 * Peach Buns (40 rings): "A lucky bun; the more you eat, the happier you get!"
 * Wang's Box Lunch (60 rings): "A homemade lunch. Pop in on a good day for an extra helping"
 * Wang's Noodles (60 rings): "A little-known hit. The superb soup takes three days to make."
 * Chili Dog (50 rings): "Sonic's favorite, a jumbo frank slathered with spicy chili."
 * Peach (30 rings): "A sweet and juicy fruit that's to die for. Don't bruise it!."
 * Candy (10 rings): "A bite-sized candy. Don't try to talk while you're chewing!"
 * Donut (50 rings): "A squishy treat that leads to a squishy physique."
 * Apple (30 rings): "One of these keeps the blah, blah, you know the rest."
 * Historic Dog: Complete a Chun-nan Mission.

Trivia

 * This stage could have been named after the Chinese province Hunan.
 * In a parody of the movie Kung Fu Panda, there's an extra movie that features Sonic and Chip in Chun-Nan fighting over a dumpling like Po and Master Shifu. As they use chopsticks in a game of tug-of-war to try and grab the dumpling, Chip realizes that Sonic is too strong for him, so he tricks him into looking in the other direction. Sonic, however, sees through this and pulls the dumpling back, but then loses his grip on the chopsticks. Then as the two go in a mad dash for the dumpling, Chip pushes Sonic out of the way and eats the food in one gulp, only to fall headfirst into jar with Sonic laughing at him.