Pangu



The Pangu is a gigantic man-made structure in Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which supports the upper tier of the city of Hengsha.

Background
A showcase of the rising Chinese economy, the Pangu was built primarily using the resources of Tai Yong Medical. The structure consists of a series of massive support pillars containing freight and passenger elevators, holding up a huge platform upon which the city of Upper Hengsha rests, centred around the headquarters of Tai Yong.

From the way Frank Pritchard uses the term, "Pangu" only refers to the supporting structure, not to Upper Hengsha itself. The interior of the Pangu's deck is not occupied by residents, instead being a machinery floor containing the equipment used to keep Upper Hengsha running and various storage areas. Monorail trains run along the underside of the Pangu, though it is unclear if these are used by regular citizens or work crews.

A newspaper in Hengsha shows an image of the Pangu under construction, showing it was built somewhat like a suspension bridge, with the towers being raised first and the deck constructed to join them together.

Since the Pangu is the floor level of Upper Hengsha and the roof of Lower Hengsha, the platform is called "floof", by Jensen when he asks Arie van Bruggen for details about the location of his surveilance recording in the Tai Yong Medical tower and by a security guard in the TYM tower, referring to a leak in the floof.

For the most part, the Pangu is just an impressive piece of background scenery, as the majority of the player's time in Hengsha is spent in the lower city with no access to the elevators or deck. However, after completing all story missions in Lower Hengsha, Adam Jensen is tasked with reaching the Tai Yong building to confront Zhao Yun Ru, necessitating a journey through the structure. Adam passes through several of the work areas, including a massive chamber where power units are being handled in a coolant pool, before finally reaching his goal, an elevator leading to the Tai Yong building. Some inhabitants of Lower Hengsha referring to it as "our roof."

Behind the scenes

 * In Chinese mythology, Pangu, or "盘古", is the name of the first living being or original god. He emerged from the whirling chaos then broke it with his axe, divided Yin from Yang to create the Earth (the Mortal Plane, or Chaos, or Perpetual Change) and the Sky (the Immortal Plane, or Order, or Stasis), and then, using his mighty strength, lifted the Sky high above the Earth. In the Sky he created the other gods of Chinese mythology and gave them for mission to watch over his other creation, the Earth, until his return. When he (his material envelope) died, his flesh and bones turned into various cosmic and geographic features, and gave birth to the first humans and animals.
 * The Pangu, and it's role towards Lower Hengsha, is very similar to that of the concept of Upper Seattle and the Cairo Arcology in Deus Ex: Invisible War, set fifty years later.