“The main hall of Empress Wu’s imperial palace, often known as the Hall of Light, is the most well-known illustration of Chinese ritual architecture. The Hall of Light had two renovations, as directed by Empress Wu: the first one being in 687, when she gave it the name “Wanxiang Celestial Palace.”; the second occurred in 695, when it was rebuilt after being destroyed by fire and given the new name “Tongtian Palace.” The Hall of Light, as described in historical accounts, was 88.88 meters tall and had three floors, the first of which was 90 meters by 90 meters square and featured walls painted with different colors that represented the four seasons. The 12 walls on the middle floor represented the 12 two-hour periods of day and night, nine statues of dragons encircled the top floor. The devastating An-Shi Rebellion (755–763) resulted in the destruction of the Hall of Light in 762, however, the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) harnessed its architectural technology to construct the Hall of Prayers for Good Harvest at Beijing’s Temple of Heaven.”
