Which country is Fontaine based on in Genshin Impact?

Fontaine's release is just around the corner, and Genshin Impact fans can't get enough of the upcoming country's aesthetics. It is known that HoYoverse uses real-world countries as inspiration while designing the different regions of the game. Hence, many are wondering about the source of inspiration behind Fontaine.

The region of Mondstadt was inspired by Germany, while Liyue found its roots in China, and Sumeru was designed based on the Indian and Middle-eastern sub-continent. It was widely rumored that the Fontaine region would be akin to France. Recent leaks suggest that the statement would only be partially true.

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Genshin Impact: Fontaine will be based on Paris and London as per leaks

Fontaine, as seen in the teaser. (Image via HoYoverse)

In a recent leak by Team China, they have suggested that Fontaine will have a Twin City structure reminiscent of Paris and London from the steampunk/science technology era. Due to the mechanical nature of the region implied by the various Fontaine NPCs, and the rumored split of the Pneuma/Ousia factions in the region, this leak does appear to be credible.

Team China is considered to be a highly reliable leaker in the community. Here is a rough translation of the tweet, as translated by Twitter.

[GI 4.0] Fontaine Twin Cities Structure London and Paris Steampunk/Science and Technology Era Coexistence Contradictions and conflicts appear here

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Possible inspiration from A Tale of Two Cities?

Another Twitter user also pointed out how Fontaine's theme of duality among the citizens and the inspiration from the two cities could also be a reference to 'The Tale of Two Cities' by renowned author Charles Dickens. While this may seem a little farfetched, Genshin Impact has occasionally been known to take inspiration from real-world texts.

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French influence on NPC designs?

The leaked designs for the female NPCs of Fontaine seem highly formal and remindful of Dresses from the La Belle Époque and Victorian Eras. Women's hats were prominent during that time, and it seems Genshin Impact retained those characteristics in their designs.

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Melusine in Fontaine?

Melusine, as seen in the game. (Image via HoYoverse)

Melusines are female spirits in French Mythology. They're depicted as females with aquatic features, similar to Mermaids. Genshin Impact's 3.8 Special Program teased a new character that appears to be one of the Melusines in the game. Although HoYoverse has not released much information regarding this species in-game, it would be exciting to see how these mythical creatures will be portrayed.