Gaoling

Gaoling is a large town located within a mountain range in the southern Earth Kingdom. It is home to both the wealthy Beifong family and the Earth Rumble VI tournament. An old and well-established town, Gaoling has a broad spectrum of citizens residing in it, ranging from the very rich to the very poor.

The town was untouched by the Hundred Year War due to its lack of strategic importance. This was made evident by the relaxed attitude of many of its residents.

History


Aang, Katara, and Sokka visited this town in the spring of 100 AG and attended an Earth Rumble tournament hoping to find an earthbending master for Aang. The search was successful, and Toph Beifong joined the group to teach the Avatar earthbending, defying her father and mother's wishes by doing so.

Layout and description
Gaoling lies in a valley surrounded by steep, rocky hillsides. Most of Gaoling's residents are middle-class people whose families have lived in the town for many generations. The center of the village features a bustling marketplace with ornately decorated buildings. The area serves as the village's center of commerce, and as such, it is filled with shops, merchants, barkers, and shoppers. On the outskirts of the settlement are very large, expansive estates where the wealthiest families, such as the Beifongs, live.

Master Yu's Earthbending Academy


Built by Master Yu as a school for his students, the Earthbending Academy is a large building with a walled central courtyard. Before each class, Master Yu placed different sized rocks in the courtyard to be used by the students to practice earthbending. This large courtyard is an ideal place for the young earthbenders to train as here, they can sling rocks around without accidentally hurting any passersby.

Beifong Estate


The Beifong Estate is a large home owned by one of the richest families in the southern Earth Kingdom. The estate is surrounded by a large garden, with a symbol of a flying boar over the front gate. It is guarded by at least two guards whose uniforms are similar to an earthbending soldier's, save that they are colored with white and green instead of the usual green and brown.

Earth Rumble stadium


A large underground wrestling stadium, known as Earth Rumble VI, is owned by its host, Xin Fu. It consists of a large rectangular stone platform on which earthbenders battle. Surrounding this are rows of seats in which spectators may sit; however, many seating areas are dangerous as occasionally rocks are hurled into the audience. The rest of the stadium is lit with glowing green gemstones hanging on the ceiling. Residents pay admission to see powerful earthbending masters fight in a ring for the title of champion.

Trivia

 * Gaoling means "tall tomb" in Chinese. It is also the name of a county in Shanxi, a central province in China In the Avatar World, it is located in the south, which coincidentally suits Toph's knowledge of Chu Gar Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu.
 * The clothing and hairstyles in Gaoling resemble those of the Tang Dynasty of ancient China.