Tens of thousands of people bade farewell to Turkmenistan's late president Saparmurat Niyazov on Sunday, mourning the death of the strongman who had led the central Asian state for two decades.

Sunday morning witnessed a large number of mourners converging to pay their last respect to their beloved leader, whose coffin was placed at a hall in the presidential palace.

Niyazov died from heart failure Thursday at the age of 66, and left no successor.

Joining the funeral procession were both ordinary Turkmens and foreign dignities, including Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher.

Attending the funeral, Tang, in the capacity of special envoy to Chinese President Hu Jintao expressed his condolences over the death of Niyazov and extended his sincere sympathy to the government and people of Turkmenistan and the president's family.

Tang said China will, as always, respect and support Turkmenistan's efforts to safeguard its national sovereignty and independence and to develop its national economy, and will also respect and support the policy of permanent neutralism upheld by Turkmenistan.

After the mourning ceremony that lasted for three hours, Niyazov's coffin was closed and carried to his home village of Kipchak, some 15 kilometers from the capital. There, Niyazov was buried in a family mausoleum near the country's largest mosque, a huge marble building named "Spirit of Turkmenbashi."

The energy-rich country had been under Niyazov's leadership since 1985.

On Saturday, Turkmen Security Minister Geldimukhammed Ashirmukhammedov pledged to maintain tranquility and stability in accordance with the policies mapped out by Niyazov.

Attending the funeral were also Turkmenistan's Acting President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, a group of senior Turkmen officials, Niyazov's family members as well as special envoys from more than 20 countries.

On Tuesday, the country's highest representative body, the Khalq Maslakhaty or People's Council, will hold a session to discuss the succession.

Lying north of Afghanistan and Iran, the desert nation of 5 million people became independent with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Turkmenistan's natural gas deposits are second only to Russia's among the former Soviet states.

Editor: Yan