YANGON - The Chinese Buddha sacred tooth relic, after being placed in Nay Pyi Taw for 16-day public obeisance, was conveyed to Yangon's  Maha Pasana Cave in Kaba Aye Pagoda Tuesday for continued public obeisance by Yangon residents.

People parade with a white elephant and a vehicle carrying a sacred Buddha tooth relic from China, encircling the grounds of the Maha Pasana Cave in Yangon Nov 22, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

Yangon Region authorities held a grand religious ceremony at the Yangon International Airport to greet the arriving tooth relic, attended by Yangon Chief Minister U Myint Swe, Chinese Ambassador Li Junhua, representatives of Buddhist circle and followers totaling more than 2,500.

Nearly 50,000 people filled the two sides of the 7-kilometer motor road leading from the airport to the Kaba Aye Pagoda in greeting the tooth relic.

The Chinese tooth relic was brought from Beijing's Lingguang Temple to Nay Pyi Taw's Uppatasanti Pagoda as the first leg of the conveyance on November 6 and will be kept in Yangon for another 16 days until December 7 for the second leg and then the relic will be taken to Mandalay's Maha Atulawaiyan Pagoda for 16 more days as the final leg of the conveyance from December 8 until December 23 totaling 48 days.

It is the fourth time that the Chinese Buddha sacred tooth relic was brought to the country for obeisance 15 years after the last conveyance.

Of Myanmar's 60-million population, over 80 percent believe in Buddhism. The conveyance of the Chinese sacred tooth relic to Myanmar represents not only a major event of the Buddhist believers but also a fine story of China-Myanmar friendship.  

Linked by mountains and rivers, China and Myanmar exchanged closely with Buddhist culture exchange playing an important part of China-Myanmar friendly exchange which enhanced the understanding and mutual trust between peoples of the two countries and playing an active role in pushing the two countries' friendly exchange.

At the invitation of successive Myanmar governments, the Chinese Buddha sacred tooth relic had been conveyed to Myanmar three times in 1955-56, 1994 and 1996-97 respectively.