An amazing piece of property was listed in Beijing earlier this year. Located in the famous Fragrant Hills Park, an imperial garden in Haidian, the house was advertised as an authentic Qing Era mansion and was listed for a whopping RMB138 million (nearly USD21 million).
The residence was listed by Lianjia, the largest real estate company in China. On their website, they described the mansion as, “The residence where the last royal of the Qing dynasty stayed to avoid summer heat in Beijing.” The sprawling and impressive property occupies 1,067 square meters of land in a suburban area of northwestern Beijing.
It’s undoubtedly a lot of money to pay for a house. But having the chance to live in a piece of China’s history might make the hefty price tag worth it to some.
But what if the whole thing was a lie?
Well, according to an article pubished by the Beijing Morning Post on Thursday, the mansion might not be a cultural relic after all. In fact, there is some speculation that the home was built just a few years ago.
According to the listing description, the house once belonged to Jin Moyu, a princess of the Qing dynasty who died in 2014 at the age of 95.
However, a staffer at the Beijing Administration of Cultural Heritage said that the estate was actually built sometime in the past few years, Sixth Tone reports. The office also confirmed that the property is not registered as a cultural relic in Beijing.
Staff members at Fragrant Hills Park, where the mansion is supposedly located, assert that this property has no actual ties to the park. In fact, they had never heard of it before the property was listed.
If this information is true and the 'historical' mansion is a fraud, it wouldn’t be the first time that Lianjia has been involved in a scandal.
Earlier this year, housing authorities in Shanghai claimed that the real estate giant had charged exorbitant rates on home loans for customers. The company was ultimately barred from selling any financial-related products.
Despite the fact that the authenticity of the 'Qing Era' mansion is under question, a real estate agent for Lianjia said that the home is still for sale. However, the listing was removed from their website soon after the Beijing Morning Post’s article was published.
[Image via Beijing Morning Post and Pinterest]
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