JEDDAH, 19 February — The last batch of Chinese pilgrims arrived in Jeddah yesterday through King Abdul Aziz International Airport on their way to the holy city of Makkah. A little over 3,000 Muslims from the People's Republic of China are performing Haj this year.
China's Consul General in Jeddah, Saeed Tu, said the majority of Chinese Muslims live in the northern and western provinces. Some pilgrims come to the holy lands on indirect flights through third countries but their number is small.
Saeed said a major problem facing Chinese Muslims during Haj is the language barrier. "We try to secure as many translators as possible but still there is a shortage since the vast majority of the pilgrims speak only Chinese."
Some of the translators hired during Haj are Chinese students in universities in Makkah and Madinah.
"The problem is largely felt when it comes to the lectures, lessons and symposia held during Haj because these are usually given in Arabic. The Chinese government is encouraging the people to learn Arabic and Islamic sciences and has opened special schools and colleges for this," said the consul who himself studied Arabic at the University of Foreign Languages in Beijing.
Saeed acknowledged that Muslims in the northern and western provinces are less prosperous compared to the people of the eastern coast. "It is true the northern and western provinces are less prosperous than the coastal areas but the government has embarked on a number of development project over the past two years to raise the standard of living in these areas. Good results have been achieved so far and within the coming five years the situation will be far better. We could then expect more Chinese pilgrim to come for Haj from these areas."
He said the issue of developing the Muslim areas was raised at a recent meeting between the Chinese Haj mission and Saudi Minister of Haj Iyad Madani.
The pilgrimage undertaken by the Chinese usually lasts for one month and costs around 30,000 yuan ($3,750) per individual. Direct flights to Jeddah take from 8 to 10 hours depending on the point of origin. (A.W.B.)
