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| Terrace (Tai) |
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The tai was an ancient architectural sturture, a very much elevated
terrace with a flat top. Generally built of earth, stone and surfaced
with brick, they are used as a belvedere from which to look into
the distance. In fact, however, many well-known ancient tai as we
know it today is not just a bare platform but has some palatial
halls built on top.
A good example is the Round City of the Beihai Park in Beijing.
A terrace five metres high, it has an area of 4, 500 square metres
on its top and a main hall with side corridors.
The tai could be built to serve different practical purposes.
For example, it could be used as an observatory as is the one
near Jianguomen in Beijing which dates back to the Ming and Qing
dynasties. It could also be used for military purposes like the
beacon towers along the Great Wall, to transmit urgent information
with smoke by day and fire by night. Also on the Great Wall, there
is a square tai at intervals of every 300 to 400 metres from which
the garrison troops kept watch. On the track of the ancient Silk
Road, ruins of the old defence fortifications in the form of earthen
terraces can still be seen.
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