What if Pixar’s Up was set in a world where East Asia never fractured into different countries, and the lost city of Z was a city in this super state?

So in this alternate world, China, Japan and Korea never fractured apart and they’re all one super state called Dai Han. In the real world, this pair of countries have so many shared things because East Asia is one macro culture region. So if East Asia was one nation, they could be more similar than they were in the real world. <br><br><br>Let’s start with China. China is the biggest country and has the biggest population. Therefore, they would be the dominant culture. So Dai Han would be a sinicized nation. But because Japan and Korea aren’t fractured away from China, Japan and Korea would have far more influence on China than they do in the real world. <br><br><br>So Dai Han culture would be one part Chinese, one part Japanese and one part Korean. Let’s call it the Dainese. So basically Dainese culture is sinicized but also has a large amount of Japanese and Korean influences. <br><br><br>Now let’s talk about the geography of Dai Han. East Asia consists of China, Taiwan, Mongolia, North Korea and South Korea, and Japan. Therefore, Dai Han would be made up of these countries. So in the north, Dai Han would share a border with Russia. In the east, it would be surrounded by the Pacific. In the south, it would border Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and India. In the west, it would border Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. <br><br><br>Now with all this context, imagine the movie Up but instead of Paradise Falls being in South America, Paradise Falls is in southern Dai Han. So Z is a city in the super state of Dai Han and not some lost city in South America or anywhere else. It’s a Dainese city. So it would be a city with Dainese culture and architecture. So Z would have Dainese architecture. It’s a mix of Chinese, Japanese and Korean architecture, with some sinicized influences from India and Southeast Asia. For example, something like Angkor Wat but made out of Chinese architecture. <br><br><br>So basically imagine a pair of Asians who are obsessed with a city in southern Dai Han and they go on an adventure to get to this city. Not some city in South America.