NANJING, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, led a KMT delegation on Wednesday morning to pay homage to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing, capital city of east China's Jiangsu Province.

Sun was a founding figure of the KMT. Paying homage to his mausoleum has long been an important part of KMT chairpersons' visits to the mainland.

Around 9 a.m., the delegation arrived at Bo'ai Square of the mausoleum and climbed the steps to the memorial hall set on the southern slope of the Purple Hills.

Cheng and other delegation members, including three KMT vice-chairpersons -- Lee Chien-lung, Chang Jung-kung and Hsiao Hsu-tsen, stood solemnly before a white marble seated statue of Sun Yat-sen. Cheng laid a yellow wreath. Members of the delegation bowed three times and observed a moment of silence.

The delegation then visited the chamber where the coffin of Sun is placed.

Sun, a revered revolutionary leader who played a pivotal role in overthrowing imperial rule in China, died in 1925. His remains were buried in the mausoleum in 1929.

Cheng has been the first KMT chairperson in 10 years who led a delegation to the Chinese mainland. Her visit is seen as an important part of the exchanges and dialogue between the KMT and the Communist Party of China (CPC) under the new circumstances.

Cheng said her visit aims to "sow a seed of peace" among Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. She called for joint efforts to "water and fertilize the seed so that it can grow into a towering tree."

The Taiwan question is a scar left over by a full-blown civil war fought between the forces led by the CPC and the KMT about eight decades ago. In 1949, the remnants of the defeated KMT retreated to Taiwan, and the People's Republic of China (PRC) was founded under the leadership of the CPC.

The unresolved civil war and foreign interference have left the two sides of the Taiwan Strait in a prolonged state of political confrontation. However, the fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory has never changed.

In 1971, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758 by an overwhelming majority, clarifying that the PRC government is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. It is widely recognized by the international community that there is only one China and that Taiwan is part of China's territory.

Cheng arrived in Shanghai on Tuesday. The visit, which covers Jiangsu, Shanghai and Beijing, will run through Sunday.