Kaédi is the largest city and administrative center of the Gorgol region of Southern Mauritania. It is approximately 435 km from Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott. The city sits within the "Chemama" Riverine zone along the north bank of the River Senegal where it connects with the Gorgol River. This region is one of the few areas of settled agriculture in the country. Culturally, the city is among the most diverse in Mauritania, consisting of ethnic "White Moors" (Arabic: البيضان) and "Black Moors" (Arabic: السودان), as well as Pulaar, and Soninke communities. It is known as a market town, a medical centre, and a centre for local farmers. The market is considered as one of the more interesting in Mauritania, but reflects the sub-saharan culture of neighboring Senegal somewhat more than the Moorish/Arabic culture found further north in the country. Most of the architecture consists of brown, flat-roofed buildings, undistinguished except for the fact that most are surrounded by "dutch brick" enclosures. The one exception is the unusual architecture of the Kaédi Regional Hospital, which was constructed in 1989 and features multiple beehive-style domes. The award-winning architecture was designed by the Association for the Development of Traditional African Urbanism and Architecture (ADAUA), which aims to develop indigenous African urban architectural designs using local materials and technologies. Kaédi, like many cities along the Senegal River, was deeply affected by ethnic strife in 1989, and has yet to fully recover economically. In 2008, a deal was signed with Chinese interests to build a railway line from Kaédi to the capital, primarily to carry phosphate. Another 200 km line would have been needed to connect with the Dakar–Niger Railway at Linguère, Senegal, but the spur connecting that town to the main railway is no longer in service. A 250 km line would be needed to connect Kaédi to the Dakar–Niger Railway at Bala, Senegal.