URUMQI/XI'NING - Muslims in northwest China celebrated the annual Corban Festival on Thursday.

A large tea party was held in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on Thursday afternoon to observe the event.

Muslims carry sheep from a removal van in Yinchuan city, Niangxia Hui autonomous region, Oct 25, 2012 for the Eid al-Adha festival, which is on the 10th day of the 12th month on the Islamic calendar. [Photo/Xinhua] More photos

Zhang Chunxian, secretary of the regional committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), delivered his greetings to Muslims of different ethnic groups at the event.

Zhang said the throughput of passengers at the Urumqi International Airport exceeded 10 million as of late September. The number of passengers at the airport last year did not hit 10 million until November.

"This shows the increasing popularity of Xinjiang and demonstrates that the whole nation has full confidence in its development and stability," said Zhang.

Meanwhile, thousands of Muslims from the Hui, Salar and Dongxiang ethnic minority groups attended a religious ceremony Thursday morning at the Dongguan Mosque in Xining, the provincial capital of Qinghai Province.

Haji, deputy director of the 900-year-old Dongguan Mosque's administration committee, said at the ceremony that Muslims are praying for national prosperity and happiness within their own families.

The festival, also known as Eid al-adha, is a major Islamic festival intended to demonstrate faith and obedience to Allah. The festival officially fell on Friday this year.

"Our whole family cherishes our harmonious life and traditional virtues. We wish for prosperity for our country," said Ma Honglu, a 72-year-old ethnic Hui, after the ceremony.

Local resident Wang Lichun said she has prepared a feast for the holiday for her parents, brothers and sisters.

China has more than 20 million Muslims, mainly living in the provinces and provincial-level regions of Xinjiang, Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and Henan.