Over 12,000 Chinese Muslim pilgrims arrived in Mecca, Saudi Arabia and joined fellow pilgrims around the Kaaba in the Great Mosque on Wednesday. /Chinanews Photo

This year, an estimated two million Muslims from across the globe will converge on Mecca in Saudi Arabia for Hajj, a religious duty and for some pilgrims the journey of a lifetime. /Chinanews Photo

A pilgrim from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region told reporters he was the first of seven generations to travel to Mecca. /Chinanews Photo

The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Islam's holiest city, and a mandatory religious duty for Muslims. All adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey must make the trip once in their lifetime. /Chinanews Photo