I now see what you mean. If the area of the VLS is indeed a full deck higher than what the Wuhan model seems to portray, then that mystery hull may well be the 055.
I do have nitpicks with your theory. One is the alleged VSR on top of the hangar. I bet a lot of people expected there to be a lower frequency VSR at that location, but we know for sure that the 055 will have an S-band 4 panel AESA radar and probably a smaller X-band 4 panel AESA radar installed on the main mast itself. This pairing would essentially be the Chinese version of the Dual Band Radar. The problem there is that the S-band large panel AESA is being used as a VSR, and if the Chinese version is intended similarly, I don't see any reason why the 055 should have 3 primary radars, 2 of which are performing the same job. I also don't know of any other ships with 3 primary radars like this, not to mention the expense of such an arrangement. Other modern ships are X+S or X+L only pairings. I think the 052C/D is pretty much unique with its S + VHF setup (or is it X + VHF??? Hmmmm). The other problem is that we already see a little radar on top of that highest little platform which looks to me like a satcom or a datalink. On other PLAN ships datalinks are frequently placed on top of the hangar. On the slightly larger platform below that we can make out 2 whip antennas which would definitely obstruct a rotating VSR on the higher platform. If the goal of the Wuhan mockup is to test hardware/electronics, placement and electromagnetic interference, and that kind of stuff, it seems unreasonable to me that the whip antennas and datalink are going to be removed later to be replaced by a VSR. If that is the case, why put those devices at that location in the first place and waste everybody's time?
A second point is that the rear VLS section holds an unknown number of VLS modules. Minimum 6, maximum 8 in my estimation. If that is the case then that step platform just aft of the funnels is not really obstructing the VLS if that is all the deck area the modules need anyway. Also note there is another pair of whip antennas on that platform. If device testing is the point of the mockup, I tend to think that the presence of those whip antennas strongly legitimizes the inclusion of that small platform in the final design.
The third thing I want to point out is that your whitish area includes the forward CIWS platform, which in no iteration of the 055 design is gone, including your own modified version. Not only that, the white area on the hangar is noticeably higher than the white area on the rest of the ship. For these two reasons I don't feel the need to attach some kind of significance to the differing paint schemes on that mockup. My own suspicion is that since the white areas were finished last they may have just gotten lazy and decided not to paint those areas like the rest of the mockup.
All good points, I'll address them all one by one.
VSR issue: I do think that the 055 will have both an X band and an S band MFR, however, that doesn't preclude the role of a low frequency VSR, nor should we necessarily assume that the 055 will inherently seek to limit itself to only a "dual band" radar suite (like the arrangement of Burke III or the original intention of Zumwalt class).
I see the roles of an X band, S band, and L band (or other low frequency) MFR as all having fairly distinct, but slightly over lapping roles, where X band would do short to mid range horizon and surface search as well as provide fire control for the main gun and possibly terminal guidance for SARH missiles; S band would provide general mid and long range VSR functions for air search and fire control for midcourse guidance of ARH missiles; L band would fulfill the role of very long range VSR role
So three radars with slightly overlapping functions I think would allow them to focus on each role better, and it also provides benefit in that the multiple sets of radar may also allow for a degree of redundancy if the ship experiences battle damage.
Of course, all this doesn't mean that I believe 055 will definitely have a large aft radar. My position regarding the aft radar is that such a configuration can potentially be sensible for a ship like this, however at the same time, the only reason I am arguing for this case is because of the persistent rumours from big shrimps over the last few years suggesting an aft radar is a core characteristic of the 055. If fzgfzy or pop3 tomorrow say that 055 won't have an aft radar then I would probably cease pushing this case and accept that maybe the small step mast on the aft could be representative of the real thing.
edit: regarding a potential VSR aft mast replacing the small step mast and interacting with the whip antennae -- I think those whip antennae may not be present on the real final ship either, and are merely sensors for testing purposes.
VLS: yes, it is possible that there is enough space in the amidships position for 6 or even 8 VLS modules in that area while also having the "step" structure in place. However, if there is also going to be a large rotating aft radar on the mast, then there may not be enough clearance between the more aft VLS modules of the 6 or 8 VLS block vs the aft radar to be considered safe.
Obviously if there ends up being no aft radar then the step structure might make a bit more sense, however at this point, with the characteristics of the 055 which we do know about via the BBS and big shrimps over the years, I think the step structure does not make very much sense.
Regarding the whip antennae -- funnily enough when those appeared on the step platform I interpreted it as a reason for why I think the step platform would not be present on the real thing, because I suspect the whip antennae may be equipment only for the mock up's EM testing, and that the step platform could be there to provide a dedicated structure for the testing purposes that is mock up exclusive.
CIWS platform: I do believe that the CIWS platform with the type 1130 is an accurate depiction of the height of the CIWS, but I think that the geometry of the CIWS platform may not look like it on the real ship. On the Wuhan mock up, the CIWS platform is a straight up rectangular block with vertical surfaces and edges, without any inwards cant on the side surfaces or bow surface to align the surfaces and edges with the rest of the deckhouse, that we would expect on a surface combatant. Both 052D and 052C feature this sort of edge and surface cant and alignment, and I expect 055 would have it as well.
I also doubt that the difference in white vs grey paint is due to laziness -- after all, they still needed to paint the entire thing anyway, so why did the feel the need to so uniformly paint the differing levels/structures of the ship in different colours? Especially when the foundation white structures correspond with the foundation structures of the mock up which we saw when it was during construction (3rd photo of my last post)... and it also raises the question as to why the small "step" mast on the aft mast is painted white as well, given that little step mast was actually constructed and put up a little while after the rest of the mock up was completed -- I can't imagine they ran out of grey paint and only had white paint lying around.
Anyway, all the above reasons (and my last post) is why I think the "continuous deck" of the mystery modules being two deck levels high is not a reason to rule out the possibility of the modules being for 055. (edit: this isn't to say that I'm saying there's a 100% likelihood that my speculated structural differences will be present on the real ship, but I think that there is a sensible case to say that it's possible based on the physical evidence we have of the mockup and some of the consistent rumours/BBS chatter we have)
If anything, in hindsight it could turn out that the two deck levels of the continuous deck will be seen as a major supporting reason for suspecting the modules being for 055.
