An additional palace, Daming Palace, built in the northeast outside Chang'an City during the Tang Dynasty, occupied high and spacious in terrain and was larger than the Taiji Palace in scale. The ruins of Daming Palace have been subject to archaeological studies and excavation. The main hall, Hanyuan Hall, is very imposing and magnificent, giving full reflection to the architectural artistic level of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. The site of the Hanyuan Hall was selected on the southern fringe of a high point above the whole city for a broad field of view. The left and right sides of the hall connected externally with the east-west-oriented gallery. The left and right ends of the gallery take a southern turn and tilt upward to link with the two Xiangluan and Qifeng penthouses built on a high terrace. The entire U-shaped structure was also a palatial watch-tower. The prose, Ode to Hanyuan Hall, describes the hall looking as if it was floating high in the clouds, and having the appearance of the rising sun, if one was walking up the flight of stairs in front of the hall and looking up at the big hall. Characteristically, Hanyuan Hall gives the feeling of brilliance and joy, and indeed has the grandeur, vastness and clarity of the rising sun. It gave expression to the spirit of the prosperous Tang Dynasty which was full of confidence.
To the north of Hanyuan Hall there are a host of halls and courtyards, their layout is the same as that of Taiji Palace. To the further north is the vast expanse of the gardening zone centered on Taiye Pond.
Linde Hall, located on a highland to the west of the pond, is another group of great buildings within Daming Palace. The ruins have been excavated. They are, in fact, stringed together closely by the surrounding four halls, with the ground floor area totaling about 5OOO square meters, making it China's largest hall. On both the left and right sides of the key structures, there are respectively square and rectangular elevated stands on which there are small structures, respectively linked in an arc shape with the upper layer of the big hall. It is conjectured that around the whole group of structures there were likely to have been courtyards encircled by corridors. (Fig.2-4)
Linde Hall, where grand banquets were held by the emperor, is composed of several undulating halls. The main body is set off by smaller structures on the east and west, thus making the key structures look more magnificent and the layers richer.
The Mingtang Hall, built in the Palace of Luoyang, the eastern capital city at the time of Wuzetian, queen during the reign of Emperor Gaozong, is also very great. According to legend, the so-called Mingtang is the most important big hall with worshipping functions in the palace since the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, and has many symbolic meanings. Later, this system was lost, and many people drew up plans for its restoration that sparked endless debate. Wuzetian discussed the plans only with a few close ministers and decided on the plan. As a result, Mingtang was completed in less than one year and designated as the main hall of the Luoyang Palace.
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