Approximately 1.89 million Muslims in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, northwest China, who are in festive mood, celebrated the festival of Fast Breaking on Friday.
They gathered in more than 3,000 mosques throughout the autonomous region, one of the major Muslim areas in the country.
Senior government officials in Ningxia, including Chen Jianguo and Ma Qizhi, respectively Party secretary and chairman of the autonomous region, visited Muslims, including imams in a number of cities and counties, including Yinchuan, the regional capital, and Pingluo, Wuzhong and Guyuan.
The lives of local Hui Muslims have changed dramatically over the past 44 years since the Ningxia Hui autonomous region was established in 1958.
Muslims in China have easy access to prayer services at over 34,000 mosques across the country.
(Xinhua News Agency December 7, 2002)
