At 127, Xinjiang woman is China’s oldest person
Print Edition
A WOMAN from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has been named the oldest person in China — at age 127 — following the death of the previous holder in June, officials said.
Almehan Said was born on June 25, 1886, during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in a village in Shule County of the northwest China region. She was the second oldest person in the country on a list issued by the Gerontological Society of China in 2010.
Wang Feng, deputy secretary to the Gerontological Society of China, told Xinjiang Daily that Said is now the oldest person after Luo Meizhen died on June 4. She could also be the oldest person in the world, pending authorization from Guinness World Records officials.
Said, who likes to sing love songs and go to bazaars, drinks cold water throughout the year and is in good health, according to the report.
Wang, who visited Xinjiang’s Kashgar Prefecture to check on the health of four century-old residents, said two of the villagers were not doing well.
The village where Said lives has a population of 20,000, including eight people aged over 100, way beyond the international standard for a longevity village, which is 25 centenarians per 100,000 people.
Wang said the sixth edition of the Top 10 Longevity People in China will be released on October 11 when Shule County will also be nominated as a longevity village.
According to official documents, previous holder Luo was born in July 9, 1885, which would make her the oldest person ever to have lived. She died after months of illness. But Luo’s declared birth date met with little recognition internationally because China did not have a reliable birth certification system until decades after she was born.
According to Guinness World Records, the oldest person ever to have lived was Jeanne Calment of France, who was 122 years and 164 days when she died in 1997.
Luo’s 1885 birth date was quoted on her official residency permit and identity card, both issued in recent decades, and was confirmed by the Gerontological Society of China in 2010.
She married Huang Tiansong at age 45 and gave birth to two girls and three boys. Her husband and all her children, except her youngest son Huang Youcai, have passed away, Xinhua news agency reported.
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