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Passing through the entrance gate we see the
full glory of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest - A Chinese guide is waving
his flag to assemble his group. The Hall was built according to Chinese
philosophy and astronomic knowledge. The hall is high above while the altar is
below. One needs to understand that the altar is the entire marble platform on
which the hall is centered (not some western altar inside). The altar is about
5.2 meters high in three levels. The upper level is 68 meters in diameter, the
middle level is 80 meters and the lowest level is 91 meters in diameter. Each
layer is surrounded by a marble balustrade. The top level has spiral dragon
with its head emeerging from the water face. The middle level has columns
decorated with the painting of phoenix's head emerging from water surface and
the bottom layer columns are adorned with patterns of clouds coming out of the
water surface. On the south-north axis there are three huge white marble red
steps with stone carvings. The top level is engraved with patterns of dragons,
the middle level with patterns of phoenix, and the lowest level with patterns
of mountains, sea and clouds.
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