A spiritual journey
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Children break the tranquility of Zhabu as they return from school.[Wang Jing / China Daily]
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Huang Jianxing, 52, has vivid memories of the day he returned to Taojiang county from Saudi Arabia, where he had taken part in one of Islam's most important sacred duties, the Hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca, the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad.
"I am one of very few people in Taojiang to have been on the Hajj, and the local Muslims were so excited that they organized a welcome-home party of 50 cars driving around the downtown," he said, excitedly.
"Nobody asked them to do it, they just came. They even made banners and printed my name on them. The government approved the event and even arranged for the traffic police to lead the procession," he said.
Huang left Taojiang in Yiyang city, Hunan province, for Mecca at the end of November 2007 and returned on Jan 2, 2008. Before the trip he flew from Changsha, the capital of Hunan, to Beijing, to attend a training day organized by the Islamic Association of China. The association provided travellers with relevant facts about customs and etiquette in Saudi Arabia, the geography of Mecca, and also the mandatory vaccinations they would need as a safeguard against illness.
There are about 28 million Chinese Muslims, and last year 18,000 of them undertook the Hajj through trips organized by the association. This year, many more will travel to Islam's holiest city from five airports in China, including Beijing, Zhengzhou and Kunming.
"I think it's essential for the association to organize the pilgrimage because there are many unforeseen problems, such as people being cheated because of language problems. And the government is helping us to improve the organization of the trip every year," Li Saijun, chairman of the Islamic Association of Taojiang County, said.
All able-bodied Muslims are expected to undertake the Hajj at least once, but circumstances mean some will never make the trip. "Yes, of course, there are some conditions - to protect yourself and your family, you cannot be old. You have to be healthy, and you must be wealthy enough that you can leave sufficient money for your family," Li said.
As a well-regarded local entrepreneur, Huang could easily afford to pay more than 30,000 yuan ($4,824), which covered his round trip and other expenses. At the end of Huang's pilgrimage, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia sent each of the pilgrims a gift of 20 kilograms of water. "I took the water from the holy city to the mosque in Taojiang, and about 200 people immediately lined up to taste it. They were so happy," Huang said.
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