James CY Soong, chairman of the People First Party (PFP) in Taiwan, said here Thursday that he leads the PFP delegation to the mainland to seek the same root of Chinese and build a bridge over the Taiwan Straits.

Upon arrival in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Soong said, "The ancestors of all the people in Taiwan came from the land I'm now setting foot on."

He said both the people in Taiwan and the mainland "are in the same family and should of course create our common future."

"The PFP delegation is here to build a bridge of mutual trust, mutual understanding and cooperation between Taiwan and the mainland," he said.

Soong and his delegation left Taipei at about 9:20 a.m. Thursday to embark on a nine-day visit to the mainland.

Xi'an is the first leg of Soong's trip. His itinerary also covers Nanjing, Shanghai, Changsha, and Beijing.