Muslims from northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region will find it easier to fulfill their pilgrimages to Medina, Saudi Arabia, as a new direct flight will be available to take them to the sacred place this year.

Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia, will become the fifth departure port for non-stop charter flights to Saudi Arabia, according to Yang Zhibo, vice chairman of the Islamic Association of China (IAC).

Muslims from Ningxia had to travel to adjacent Gansu Province to take flights to Saudi Arabia during previous pilgrimages.

"The opening of a direct route will save time and energy," Yang said.

The other four departure ports are Beijing, Urumqi in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Lanzhou in Gansu Province and Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Xinjiang, Ningxia and Gansu are home to 16 million Muslims.

More than 9,600 Chinese Muslims took 31 non-stop charter flights from Nov. 29 to Dec. 17, 2006, to Saudi Arabia. About 1,500 were from Ningxia.

(Xinhua News Agency February 3, 2007)