The former owner of the Kucha Palace was a local Uygur leader who made great achievements for the Qing Dynasty (1636-1911) during the reign of Emperor Qianlong and Emperor Daoguang. As a reward for his outstanding contributions, he was made a duke and a palace was built for his family in 1828. However, the palace was destroyed by the army of Sheng Shicai, a warlord of the Kuomintang (KMT). Today, only the outer walls and parts of the original rooms remain. In 2004, the local government spent 15 million yuan to rebuild the Kucha Palace on the original site based on the recollections of the 12th generation of the duke's family.

The palace features a mix of Muslim, Russian, and Han Chinese architecture, and covers an area of 40,000 square meters. Tourists may visit the dukes' rooms, museums, exhibitions and the old outer walls of the palace, to have a picture of the daily life of the duke and his family. A restaurant, a hotel and performances are also available on-site.[China.org.cn/ Photo by Chen Xiangzhao]

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