58-yr-old Moutai liquor sells for 1.5 mln yuan

Guiyang (CNS) -- A single bottle of "Chelun" Moutai liquor produced in 1953 fetched 1.5 million yuan (US$237,424) at an aged liquor auction in southwest China's Guizhou Province on Sunday.

Moutai, also known as Maotai, is considered China's national liquor and usually reserved for state banquets and high-end consumers.

The auction included 222 deals which covered almost 600 bottles of Moutai, the most ever at an auction in China.

A liquor collection from the 1940s also sold for 1.5 million yuan during the supplementary round, although its true market value has yet to be identified.

The organizer of the auction told CNS that buyers are becoming more rational in selecting liquors for their collections, but that the auction was quite successful despite the general downturn.