Sons return mother's ashes to hometown in Hubei

"Mom, you have returned home. And you can rest well now at home," said Chien Li-jen while gently patting a backpack on his chest. It contained his mother's ashes.

Last week, Chien, 70, and his brother Chien Li-yi departed Taipei Songshan Airport to arrive in Wuhan, the capital of central China's Hubei province. They met a group of relatives who had waited for them at the airport.

Chien's mother died at the age of 106 before the Spring Festival.

Chien said his mother's last wish was to return to her hometown in Huangpi district of Wuhan for burial after she died.

"Before her death, my mother kept saying that she wanted to be sent back to Huangpi. And now, she has finally returned to her hometown as she wished," Chien said.

The funeral had been arranged in advance, and Chien's mother was buried in a cemetery in Huangpi the next day, resting on the land of their hometown.

According to Chien, his parents often traveled back and forth between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan to reunite with their loved ones after the resumption of civil exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.

Chien's father, who died of illness in 2001, was also buried in his hometown of Huangpi.

"Our roots are in the mainland," Chien's mother frequently told her children before she died.

Under the guidance of their mother, Chien and his brother developed their careers on the mainland. They also maintained close contact with their relatives and friends in Huangpi.

Chien said his mother was 96 when she last returned home to visit her relatives.

He said his mother used to speak with a Huangpi accent, and when she had nothing to do, she always talked about things from her hometown.

"As my mother got older, she forgot many things, but her concern for her hometown never changed," Chien said.

Although they left home at a very young age, Chien said their mother's attachment to their hometown influenced him and his siblings.

"When I was young, my mother often made fishballs and meatballs for her children. When I returned to my hometown many years later, I realized that these are famous Huangpi cuisines," he added.