The remains of 12 Chinese People's Volunteers martyrs who died during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-53) returned to the motherland on Wednesday.
The remains and 146 related artifacts were transported from Incheon, South Korea, to Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning province, aboard the country's most advanced large transport aircraft, the Y-20B. Upon entering Chinese airspace, four J-20 stealth fighter jets escorted the plane in a tribute to the fallen.
China and South Korea held a handover ceremony for the martyrs' remains on Wednesday morning at the Incheon International Airport.
At the ceremony, Xu Yao, China's vice-minister of veterans affairs, said the two sides have, in line with humanitarian principles, carried out handovers of the remains of CPV martyrs in South Korea for 13 consecutive years, bringing home the remains of 1,023 martyrs.
The handover has become a vivid example of friendly cooperation between the two countries, he said.
Xu expressed gratitude to the relevant South Korean departments and personnel for their efforts and said China is willing to further deepen friendly exchanges and cooperation with South Korea so that more fallen heroes can return home at an early date.
A separate ceremony was held at the Shenyang Taoxian International Airport to receive the remains. More than 1,800 people attended, including veterans of the war, representatives of martyrs' families, Olympic athletes, as well as teachers and students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
The coffins were later escorted to the CPV cemetery for martyrs in Shenyang. A burial ceremony will be held on Thursday.
Since 2014, China and South Korea have completed 13 batches of handovers of CPV martyrs' remains. Wednesday's mission also marked the first time the Y-20B was used for repatriation duties.
Jin Donghui, a 92-year-old CPV veteran who attended the reception ceremony, said the soldiers fought for two years and nine months to defend the motherland and secured a major victory.
"The martyrs of the CPV shall live forever," he said.
Also in attendance was Huang Guanming, a second-year high school student from Taiwan studying at Shenyang No 15 Middle School. He said witnessing the return filled him with "an unprecedented sense of awe and reverence".
"The martyrs are heroes of the Chinese nation and the backbone that safeguarded the country and our homes," he said. "They traded their youth for peace and security, so that the land could remain unharmed and the country enjoy stability and tranquility.
"As a Taiwan student growing up in the motherland, I deeply understand that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait share the same roots, culture and blood ties," Huang said.
"I will tell my relatives and friends in Taiwan about what I experienced today, and turn my admiration for the martyrs and love for the country into motivation to strive forward and contribute to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," he said.
