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Chinese worldwide search for their roots in Hubei

By Guo Rui and Wang Xiaoming (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-06-11 16:43

The 2010 World Chinese Root Festival in Suizhou, in Hubei province, attracted attentions both at home and abroad.

More than 20,000 people from all walks of life gathered on Mount Lie, together with officials from the mainland and Taiwan, to pay a formal visit to Emperor Yan, the first ancestor of Chinese people.

Emperor Yan was China's tribal leader in ancient times, as well as the founder of Chinese farming culture. Since the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BC), there have been more than 140 books and records saying that Emperor Yan was born on Mt Lie in Suizhou.

Li Hongzhong, the governor of Hubei province, opened the festival. The worldwide Chinese chambers of commerce, organizations and clan relatives of Mt Lie attended the following ancestor worship ceremony.