Shanghai: Having charted out a new roadmap for Sino-Indian ties, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on June 25 fulfilled a long-standing wish to admire the birthplace of China's Buddhism, the religion that provided the main link between the two countries in ancient times, before arriving on June 25 night in modern China's industrial and commercial hub.

The 78-year-old Indian leader savoured China's rich cultural heritage in one of the country's seven ancient capitals Luoyang in Central China, before flying 90 minutes behind schedule into Shanghai, symbol of China's great leap forward.

As he went round the famed Buddhist relics in Central China's Henan province, taking time off his busy schedule, he remarked it was his long-standing wish to visit this place.

The Longmen caves, one of the three great treasure houses of stone sculpture in China, and the White Horse Temple, regarded as the birthplace of Buddhism in this country, were on the itinerary of tourist Vajpayee, a day after he concluded discussions in Beijing with those who run this country of 1.3 billion.

PTI