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Zhang Meiyu
Zhang Meiyu
Zhang Meiyu in October 2020, at the claimed age of 115.
Birth: 4 October 1905?
Empire of Japan (now Taiwan)
Age: 119 years, 129 days?
Country: TaiwanTWN
Longevity claimant

Zhang Meiyu [Chinese: 張美玉] (born 4 October 1905?) is a Taiwanese longevity claimant whose age is currently unvalidated by the Guinness World Records (GWR). In October 2022, she was reported as the oldest living person in Taiwan by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Biography[]

Zhang Meiyu claims to have been born on 4 October 1905 (marked on her ID card as the 7th year before the creation of Republic of China) in Empire of Japan (now Taiwan).

Zhang has two sons and four daughters. In her 80s, she told she took the plane alone to help her daughter, living in the USA, to take care of her newborn son. At the age of 90, she was still able to saw the branches of her litchi tree.

Centenarian years[]

On the Mother's Day in 12 May 2012, Zhang was reported to still go out by taking the bus, to exercise every day and to be physically strong. She likes walking in group.

In October 2014, Zhang was reported as the oldest living person in Taichung. She was visited by the mayor, Hu Zhiqiang. She was reported to be lucid and in good health, and to led an ordinary life. She eats three meals a day (mostly mush), and goes each month to hospital to have vitamins (called nutritionnal injections).

In October 2019, Zhang was visited by Lu Xiuyan, the mayor of Taichung. Zhang was reported to like wearing stylish hats and glasses, and to put some make-up on her face. She wakes up early and goes to bed early, with taking a nap at noon.

In August 2020, Zhang traveled 4 kilometers with a wheelchair, but was lost. A policeman took her back to her home. In October 2020, she was reported as the second-oldest living person in Taiwan, after a 117-year-old woman of Taipei.

In 2022, Zhang had a fall, and was hospitalized in Taichung. Her physical strength and her hearing deteriorated. In April 2022, she underwent hip surgery, possibly making her the oldest person who underwent this operation, being older than Gladys Hooper. The third day after the surgery, she was able to walk again with a walker.

In October 2022, Zhang was reported to be the oldest living person in Taiwan; her predecessor, a claimed-118-year-old woman of Taipei, went to limbo.

Zhang currently lives in West District, Taichung, Taiwan, at the claimed age of 119 years, 129 days. If her claimed age were validated, she would be the oldest known living person in Asia (being older than Tomiko Itooka), since the death of Kane Tanaka on 19 April 2022. She would also be the oldest person ever from Taiwan, as well as the oldest known living person in the world since the death of Lucile Randon on 17 January 2023.

Gallery[]

References[]

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