Henan county an ancestral haven for Chinese worldwide

The terraced farmland in Yangtianwa is an example of the farming achievements of Gushi's past. [Photo by Xia Yi/China Daily]

Wang also talked about Chen Yuanguang, a Gushi native during the early Tang Dynasty, who was a prominent pioneer in developing Fujian.

At the age of 13, Chen accompanied his father Chen Zheng, commander of the southern China military expeditionary force, on a march to Fujian to set up a regional administration.

In 677, Chen Zheng died, and Chen Yuanguang took over his father's duties, leading the troops.

Chen established order in Fujian and, as a result, the entire region, with Zhangzhou at the center, became stable. He then introduced advanced farming and production techniques to the region, making it as prosperous as the Central Plain.

Chen's descendents also settled in Fujian and later moved to Guangdong, Taiwan and throughout Southeast Asia.

The people of Zhangzhou, Fujian, along with the descendants of immigrants from Zhangzhou to Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, all refer to him as the "Sacred Prince, Developer of Zhangzhou".

Qu Shangying, Party chief of Gushi, said the county has been a traditional destination for genealogy among Chinese people all over the world.

"We are glad to see that many Chinese people with ancestral roots in Gushi have exerted increasing influence across the Taiwan Straits and throughout the world," Qu said.

He said the genealogical events in Gushi are building close connections between Gushi and the world, and the growing affinity for Gushi among Chinese people in the rest of the country and the world is expected to bring more cultural and economic prosperity to the county.

Since 2008, when the first Gushi root-seeking cultural festival was held, more than 100,000 people from home and abroad took trips to the county, praying to their ancestors, donating to local education institutions, or setting up businesses, according to Qu.