BEIJING, Nov. 4 -- Muslims across China ended their final sunrise-to-sunset fast and gathered in mosques yesterday, to celebrate the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

    The Niujie Mosque in Beijing, the largest and oldest among the 68 mosques in the capital, welcomed some 4,500 Muslims from every corner of the city.

    It was the first time that the 1,000-year-old mosque had opened to the public since March, because of renovations.

    "Starting from 8 o'clock in the morning, people began to swarm to the mosque," said Sun Ying from the subdistrict office of Niujie Street, the largest Muslim area in Beijing.

    "Forty-six foreign Muslims from eight countries such as Iran also joined the joyous group to celebrate the festival of fast-breaking."

    Children walked through the streets with sweets in hand, folk artists showed-off their beautiful voices and dances and people tucked into a variety of Muslim street snacks. At present, Beijing has 250,000 Muslim residents, and more than 10,000 are living in the Niujie area.

    In Northwest China, where most of the country's Muslims live, many local people celebrated the day.

    "I went to a nearby mosque in the morning and stayed there for an hour praying to almighty God for happiness and safety for my family," said Xie Xiaodong, a professor at Lanzhou University in Gansu, adding that all his family members are Muslims.

    "It's a sacred and happy day for us," he said. "We've cleaned our home thoroughly and put on new clothes for the festival."

    According to State regulations, Muslims in China have one day off for the fast-breaking festival, and in some areas such as the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, they enjoy a three-day holiday.

    Eid al-Fitr Arabic for the "festival of breaking the fast" is a time for family gatherings and meals. For the next two days, people usually flood parks and other public places, with children decked out in new clothes for the occasion.

    Observant Muslims refrain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the month in Islam's lunar calendar when it is believed that the first verses of the Koran Islam's holy book were revealed to the prophet Muhammad in the 7th century. Enditem

(Source: China Daily)