Historic courtyard house in Beihai park was sold for  astronomical price

A courtyard house (siheyuan) in Beihai Park was sold for 420 million yuan ($61.53 million) on a real estate website Thursday.

The ad said the triplex house, covers an area of 6,230 square meters, and has a parking lot for 108 cars. It is decorated with blue bricks and glazed tiles, and once was the home of the mother of Qianlong, the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Zhang Yuhai, who posted the ad, told the Global Times Thursday that he was the agent for the owner of the house, but refused to give any details about the owner.

Sun Guangliang, a branch manager of the agency told the Global Times that the owner of the house was Taiwanese, and he renovated the house 10 years ago.

The renowned Nine-Dragon Screen in Beihai Park, which depicts nine dragons each playing with a pearl amidst waves of clouds, was once the screen wall in the house for sale, according to the ad.

There are three Nine-Dragon Screens in China; the other two are located in the Forbidden City and Datong, Shanxi Province.

"I can show you the house after the lawyer checks your financial status," Sun said they have to make sure buyers have sufficient funds to purchase it. Detailed information about the owner will be shown when the buyer signs the contract.

Sun added groups like Sinopec and Shandong Luneng have asked for information about the house, and many other rich businessmen also looked at it.

An official from the administrative center of Beihai Park, who wished to remain anonymous, said the house was no longer the property of the park after it was turned into a sports stadium in 1925, it was later sold to a company who renovated the house, and changed it to a garden.

The house is not a cultural relic because it burnt down in 1919, and has been reconstructed several times since then, the official said.

According to the China Yearbook published by the China Economic Publishing House in 1998, the house was sold to a club in 1996, which later renovated it and planned to turn it into a catering and fitness entertainment center.