The last group of pilgrims returned home to northwest China's
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on Thursday after their pilgrimage to
Mecca.
More than 1,000 Muslim pilgrims, including 300 women, survived
the January 12 stampede tragedy in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, said Ding
Baojiang, an official with the Religious Affairs Administration of
Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia, on Friday.
The tragedy in Mecca left at least 350 dead, including four
Chinese, and nearly 400 others injured. The stampede was caused by
thousands of pilgrims rushing to complete a symbolic stoning ritual
of the Hajj.
Statistics show that more than 2.8 million pilgrims from around
the world thronged the Muslim holy city.
Ding said that Ningxia recorded the largest number of pilgrims
in years for this pilgrimage.
Ningxia is home to over 2 million Muslims, accounting for 33
percent of China's Muslim population, according to Ding.
There are about 2,300 mosques, almost one in every village, he
said.
?(Xinhua News Agency January 28, 2006)