From reading the FAQ it appears to be MIPSish with arbitrary changes and minus the vector extension, with a riscv inspired abi. As for why bother, the goal of

From reading the FAQ it appears to be MIPSish with arbitrary changes and minus the vector extension, with a riscv inspired abi. As for why bother, the goal of the project is Chinese independence from Western tech. Therefore it must be "different" but not different enough to cause much actual work or problems. Think of it as an ISA with Chinese characteristics.