Yinchuan – Fulfilling one of Islam's main pillars, hundreds of Chinese Muslims from northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region embarked on the life-time spiritual journey of hajj on Monday, October 17.
"The Mecca pilgrimage is my biggest hope in my life," 66-year-old Ma Zhuangyu told Xinhua news agency.
“But I could not afford the trip in the past due to financial reasons.”
Zhuangyu was one of the first group of pilgrims in Ningxia who will go to Mecca on a government-organized trip this year.
A total of 2,656 Muslims in Ningxia are scheduled to fly to Saudi Arabia via eight Air China charter flights between Oct. 17 and Oct. 22.
Pilgrims will return to Ningxia between Nov. 27 and Dec. 2, said Li Yushan, of the Ningxia Regional Administration of Religious Affairs.
The number traveling this year is about 200 more than that of last year, he said.
Muslims from around the world pour into Mecca every year to perform hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam.
Hajj consists of several rituals, which are meant to symbolize the essential concepts of the Islamic faith, and to commemorate the trials of Prophet Abraham and his family.
Every able-bodied adult Muslim who can financially afford the trip must perform hajj at least once in a lifetime.
Hajj is expected to climax this year on November 5 when the faithful descend the Mount `Arafat.
Easier Hajj
Receiving new services during their spiritual journey, the joy of the pilgrims maximized with the easier steps they were taking to fulfill their dream journey to Mecca.
"We used to pool our years of savings to afford the Mecca trip for only the eldest member in the family,” Zhuangyu said.
“But nowadays, we are living a better and better life, and women in a family can also go to Makkah," he added.
Zhuangyu is flying to Mecca with his 66-year-old wife and 72-year-old sister, all of whom have never been to the holy lands to perform hajj.
Li, from Ningxia Regional Administration of Religious Affairs, said a 76-member team will accompany pilgrims to offer different services, including translation, accommodation, medical treatment, transportation and security.
More than 2.25 million Hui live in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, accounting for more than one-third of the total population of the region.
Nationwide, about 13,800 Chinese Muslim pilgrims are scheduled to take 41 chartered flights to Makkah for the annual Hajj this year.
