Princess Wengcheng

Tibet, China -- In the history of Tibet, there is a special place reserved for the Han princess -- Wencheng. Around the year 600, the princess was married by the Tang Imperial Court, to legendary Tibetan ruler Songtsan Gampo. The union brought lasting peace between the two powers, and has spawned numerous romantic stories.

It is said that Buddhism was brought to Tibet by Wengcheng . Tour all the palaces and temples of Lhasa, and it becomes obvious that Princess Wencheng had it all. Her presence is ubiquitous. Many say the location of Jokhang Temple was chosen by the princess herself. And the Buddhist shrine has nearly become her own house of worship.

The princess earned the respect of the Tibetan people, and if the stories are to be believed, the love of her husband. But all this came at a price -- Wencheng never returned from her adopted home. One can imagine the princess enduring the gnawing pain, of missing her parents and her palace.

But now, almost one and a half millennia after her death, that longing is finally being fulfilled. A Chinese expatriate, in the United States, has paid in advance for a Princess Wencheng statue. It will be crafted in Jokhang Temple, then sent back to Guangren Temple in Xi'an, the ancient capital of the Tang Dynasty. Those who escort the statue will travel the same path, in reverse, that the princess and her entourage took long ago.

There's a world of difference between a Tang princess and today's overseas Chinese. But missing home is a shared human emotion, regardless of time and place.

No matter how far you go, home is still home.