The Royal Palace is almost certainly the largest palace compound in the world; with its myriad buildings, gardens, and plazas, it is very nearly a city in itself. The palace was designed so that it was located at the figurative heart of Ba Sing Se, and by extension the Earth Kingdom. It is surrounded on all sides by the Upper Ring, home to the central government ministries and the mansions of the city's wealthiest citizens, bureaucrats, and civil servants. The palace is arranged on a north-south axis which extends beyond its walls to form the central axis of the Upper Ring.