More than 800 people gathered to welcome a Hong Kong chartered airplane with a holy relic of Sakyamuni Buddha at Xi'an Xianyang International Airport on Saturday.

The sacred relic of Buddhism returned home after a 10-day exhibition in Hong Kong.

Some 1 million Buddhists worshiped the Buddha finger bone, said Master Yi Cheng, president of the China Buddhist Association.

The exhibition of the sacred relic in Hong Kong, together with 20 other rare relic treasures, fulfilled the strong wishes of Buddhists there to worship the relics, Yi Cheng said.

Hugo San, an exhibition staff member from the Hong Kong Buddhist Association, described the exhibition as "very successful."

"The reception we saw has more than surpassed our expectations," San said.

Hong Kong is the third place to borrow the relic from the mainland for worship, following Thailand and China's Taiwan Province.

The exhibitions provide a rare opportunity not only for Buddhists but also for non-faithfuls to experience the benevolence of the Buddha.

The sacred relic is kept in the Famen Temple near Xi'an, considered the holy land of Buddhism. The finger bone was unearthed in 1987, after being sealed in a crypt under the Famen Tower for more than 1,100 years.

(China Daily June 7, 2004)