In the village, which was named after a tale of the capture of an 80-kg fish, villagers lined up by the village road in drizzle, holding banners which read "Welcome to home village, Mr. Soong!" and "Chu-yu, welcome back home!"

Following traditional rituals, Soong swept the tombs of his great grandfather and grandparents amid the sound of firecrackers. All the tombs are kept intact.

Upon his arrival at the airport in Changsha, the provincial capital of Hunan, Sunday afternoon, Soong said, "I escorted my grandmother's coffin to the hometown 56 years ago. I've left Hunan for 56 years and haven't come back to see village folks, but I always miss you."

Hunan is the fourth leg of Soong's nine-day trip to the mainland, which started Thursday. He will also visit Beijing and meet Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, before going back to Taipei the coming Friday.

(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2005)