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Chinanews, Urumqi, Oct. 29 – In the old downtown area of Kuqa, Xinjiang, there is a place named Kuqa Royal Residence. The house was built for a prince, 80-odd-year-old Dawuti Mahesuti, who is also believed to be the last royal prince still living in China.
Dawuti Mahesuti inherited the title (which was conferred by the Qing imperial court) when he was 14. The newly refurbished palace where he lives covers an area of 60 mu (about 40, 000 square meters). It was jointly1 built by local government and businesspeople at a cost of 13 million yuan. The royal member and his family will live a comfortable life for the rest of their time in the mansion2. The sitting room inside the palace looks impressive and is full of ethnic3 features. It is a place where Dawuti Mahesuti entertains his guests. A richly ornamented4 rug is placed inside the room and on the rug, there is always some delicious food: the heavily-fried dough5 twist (a local snack food), pomegranate, jujube, grapes, etc. A portrait of Mahepuzi is hung in the most eye-catching place in the room. Mahepuzi was Dawuti Mahesuti's uncle and was also the eleventh prince in Kuqa region. After Pujie (the brother of Puyi, the last emperor in the Qing Dynasty) died, Dawuti Mahesuti became the last living royal prince in China. He will own this title for a whole life, although his offspring will not inherit such title. When he was only two and half years old, Dawuti Mahesuti was adopted by his uncle and became a member of the princely family. In 1941, Dawuti Mahesuti, who was then only 14 years old, became the twelfth prince of Kuqa region. However, it was only an honorary title. As a “king”, Dawuti Mahesuti owned two palatial6 houses, 30 mu of land and some servants. However, he needed to support his own life by farming on his own land. As the last prince, Dawuti Mahesuti experienced ups and downs throughout his life. After opening-up was implemented7, local government restored Dawuti Mahesuti to his old title. Currently, he is also a deputy chairman of the CPPCC Kuqa County Committee. Every month, he receives his salary as a government staff worker. “It is thanks to the opening-up that I have been able to live a good life,” he said. His royal palace has now been turned into a tourist site with the business operated by the Royal Palace Tourism Company. Last year alone, about 50,000 people visited the royal mansion.
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