Wang Qi, who lived in India as Raj Bahdur, arrives in Beijing after 54 years. He took off at midnight on Saturday from New Dehli and arrived in the Chinese capital at 11:38 AM local time. Wang, now in his late seventies, is greeted by people holding banners that read "Welcome home soldier, it's been a rough journey".

The journey has not been easy for Wang Qi. Today is Lantern Festival, a day when many in China celebrate family reunions. This year, Wang finally joins the festivities.

Others welcomed him back with flowers, warm clothing and a bowl of dessert to celebrate the Lantern Festival.

It's rather bitter sweet. His five decades in India were also fruitful. He arrives in the Chinese capital with his youngest son and other family members. Shortly after his arrival in Beijing, he and his family hopped on a plane to Shaanxi, where Wang was born and raised. Waiting for him there are his remaining siblings, and a long-delayed visit to his parents' graves. 

"This is an unforgettable experience. I want to thank everyone that came to welcome me home. It took me 54 years, I wrote so many reports to officials in India and now they have finally agreed to let me return home," Wang said.

In 1963, the Chinese army surveyor crossed into India and was captured. He was picked up by the Indian Red Cross Society and handed over to the Indian Army in Assam. The Chinese Embassy in India gave Wang a passport in 2013, but he was not able to leave. The circumstances surrounding Wang's capture. It's believed he was not carrying any form of identification at the time of his capture. 

"The Embassy and the Indian government told me they were handling my documents as soon as they could so I could make it back for the Lantern Festival," he said.

Here at the Beijing International Airport, people are gathered to welcome home the long lost veteran, Wang Qi who has been longing to come home for 54 years. Half a century later, Wang finally returns to his motherland but what is ahead of him? Will he be able to adjust to the reverse culture shock? Will he be able to recognize his home town, his homeland that has changed so drastically in the last 50 years? How will his family adjust? And will he ever return to India?