Tu Zin

The Abandoned Mining Town is a small, abandoned village located in the Earth Kingdom. It appears in both The Chase and Bitter Work.

History
This town is located in the mountainous area of the Southern Earth Kingdom,in a small, deserted valley some distance from the expansive Si Wong Desert. This is a boomtown that quickly came to be after rare and valuable metals were discovered in the nearby mines. In a very short amount of time, Earthbenders from all over the Earth Kingdom came here to mine for the valuable metals. For years this was a striving town that flourished with commerce. But after the mines dried up, people began to leave. The villagers abandoned the town to search for new opportunities elsewhere in the Earth Kingdom, leaving behind several possessions and leaving the town to decay. It wasn't long before everyone was gone, leaving this place a deserted ghost town.

The town is not known to have had any major involvement in the ongoing war that has engulfed the rest of the Earth Kingdom. However, during the events of The Chase, Avatar Aang arrived at this town while fleeing from Princess Azula after she pursued him and his friends for the entire night beforehand in a giant tank that could run over sand and water with three mongoose dragons. Sleep-deprived and exhausted, he finally faced her at this town and was moments away from fighting her when Prince Zuko interrupted their meeting. He too had been following the Avatar by trailing his sister. Both siblings were intent on capturing Aang for themselves and fought each other as they chased Aang through the rotting buildings. After knocking out Zuko, Azula cornered Aang and was only stopped from her attempt to attack him thanks to the timely intervention of Aang's friends. Zuko's Uncle Iroh also joined the fray, and soon Aang, his friends, Zuko, and Iroh were all chasing Azula. They finally cornered her and when she saw that she was overwhelmed, she "surrendered" to the group. However, this was just a trick and she blasted Uncle Iroh with her blue flames, causing Aang, Zuko, Katara, and Toph to attack Azula simultaneously with their native elements. Unfortunately, Azula blocked the attack with a fire shield and the resulting explosion set most of the ruined town ablaze. She was nowhere to be found as she had escaped. Zuko then furiously drove away the Avatar and his friends despite their attempts to help him heal the wounded Iroh.

The mining town appears again in the episode Bitter Work. Zuko is seen caring for his wounded Uncle in a ruined shack located on a hill outside of the city. This is also where Iroh continues Zuko's training, teaching him about the Four Nations and the redirection of lightning.