Chairman of the People First Party (PFP) James CY Soong (3rd R) pays homage to his great grandfather in Juyu Village in Xiangtan, central China's Hunan Province, on May 9, 2005. (Xinhua Photo)

James Soong, chairman of People First Party of Taiwan, paid homage yesterday morning at the tombs of his great-grandfather and grandparents in a small village in central China's Hunan Province.

In Juyu Village, named after a tale that involves the capture of an 80-kilogram fish, townspeople lined up along the road under rainy skies, holding welcoming banners.

Following tradition, Soong swept the tombs of his great-grandfather and grandparents amid the sound of firecrackers.

"I escorted my grandmother's coffin to my hometown 56 years ago," Soong said as he arrived at the airport in Changsha, Hunan's provincial capital. "I left Hunan for 56 years and haven't come back to see the village folks, but I've always missed you."

The Changsha visit is the fourth leg of Soong's nine-day trip to the mainland, which started last Thursday and included stops in Xi'an, Nanjing and Shanghai. He will also travel to Beijing to meet with Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee, before returning to Taipei on Friday.

During his visit to the ancestral tombs, Soong said, "We brought a sincere heart from Taiwan. And we came here to present tributes to our ancestors who gave us a good education and enlightenment."

Soong also took a cup of earth from the tomb of his great-grandfather as a remembrance of his hometown and ancestors.

Soong met with many of his mainland relatives yesterday in Xiangtan.

A tearful Soong hugged his uncle Song Yangzhao, and Soong's wife and many of relatives, including his cousins, shed tears during the first family reunion in 56 years.

Soong's relatives presented him with a photo of his great-grandfather and an ancestral jade plate.

Early in the day, the PFP leader addressed the Juyu villagers in local dialect and thanked them for their warm greeting.

"I'm very excited to see a prosperous village that was destitute when I left in 1948," said Soong, calling himself a child nurtured by Hunan rice and the water of the Xiangjiang River.

Soong bowed three times to his audience, evoking stormy applause.