It has been a long-cherished wish of Xu Yanwu to return to his hometown in northeast China he left 74 years ago after the invading Japanese troops occupied the region. But he died of illness last month at the age of 93.

However, his son, Xu Tieqi, made his dream come true on Sunday, Sept. 18, the day Japanese troops started an invasion of China 74 years ago.

Traveling 2,700 kilometers from southwest China's Sichuan Province, the Junior Xu and his family members stood by the Songhua River Sunday morning, holding a portrait of his father.

"Daddy, now you are here in your hometown," said Junior Xu, "We bring you here to see the Songhua River and the great changes taking place in the region."

"My father never forgot the day of Sept. 18 and had dreamed of coming back to see and drink a cup of water from the Songhua Rive, " said the Junior Xu.

"The reason that we came here today is not just to realize my father's dream, but to commemorate those Chinese compatriots who were killed more than seven decades ago."

On Sept. 18, 1931, Japanese troops blew up a section of the Dalian--Harbin Railway near Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, then accused the Chinese troops of sabotage as a pretext and bombarded the barracks of the Chinese troops near Shenyang the same evening, thus starting a massive armed invasion of northeast China. In January 1932, all the three northeast China provinces, namely Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning, were occupied by the Japanese army.

Xu Yanwu, the Senior Xu who was 19 then, escaped with thousands of his fellow countrymen on the very day of Sept. 18, 1931.

The Senior came to Beiping (Now Beijing) by himself and found a job at the Fengtai Railway Station. He joined the Communist Part of China in 1936 and took part in the fight against Japanese invasion untill Japan's surrender in 1945.

After the founding of new China in 1949, the Senior had worked at the railway administrations in Harbin and Beijing in the early 1960s, he was transferred to take the post of deputy head of Chengdu Railway Administration in Sichuan Province and worked there till his retirement in 1982.

Xu Tieqi, the Junior Xu, said, "To my father, Sept. 18 is a day that he could never forget." "It has become a tradition of my family to reunite on Sept. 18. every year and my father would tell his story in the past," Xu said.

Xu Tianxiao, the grandson, said, "What my grandpa said was not only about the history of a family, but about national humiliation as well. Young people like me should have a better understanding of the history of our country."

Due to old age and poor health conditions, Senior Xu's journey back home has been delayed time and again. The death of Xu on August 23 prompted his children to bring "him" back to hometown on Sept. 18 to carry out his unfulfilled wish.

This year's Sept. 18 coincides with the Mid-Autumn Day, a traditional Chinese festival of family reunion. "We planned to make this year's Sept. 18 a special occasion, but my father died before the day comes," Junior Xu said sadly.

Except Xu's family, 30 other Chengdu residents also came to attend an activity to mark the 74th anniversary of the Sept. 18 Incident, which was held at the side of the Songhua River, a river that runs through the northeast China region and the area irrigated by the river forms a major barn of China.

Following a tradition in southern China, all the members of the group placed lotus-like paper lanterns carrying candles on the Songhua River. The lanterns carry the words to mourn the deceased and best wishes for the future.

"Wherever we are, we will never forget the national humiliation and disasters the war had brought to the Chinese nation and my family," said 66-year-old Yue Jinru, whose uncle died in the fight against Japanese invasion.

"My elder brother, younger sister and I came for commemorations in the cities of Nanjing, Shenyang and Harbin around the country, " said Yue, who expressed the best wish for national unity and hope "My motherland will become stronger and prosperous."

To mark the Sept. 18 Incident, many newly-weds refused to have their wedding ceremonies on Sunday. Siren sounded in more than 100 cities across the country also reminds people of not forgetting the national humiliation and cherishing today's peace.

(People's Daily September 19, 2005)