Over the past 40 years， in response to invitations， the ChinaIslamic Association has sent more than 100 delegations， over300 persons altogether， to take part in various international Islamic conferences， and have been warmly received by government leaders and welcomed by the local Muslims. The friendship and mutual understanding between Muslims of China and the rest of the world has been improved through their visits as a result. The leaders of the Association and Chinese Muslim scholars have also attended activities such as the conference of the Egyptian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council， the conference of the Muslim World League Mosques Supreme Council， theEgyptian Azhar Islamic Da"wah seminar， the conference of the World Islamic Call Society， the Ramzan Forum of Moroccan King Hassan￠ú， the Oman International Islamic Law Seminar， the Algerian Islamic Thought Seminar， the International Academic Seminar on Zhenghe in Indonesia， the Mosque Get- Together in celebration of the independence of Indonesia， the Malaysian Islamic Cultural Festival， the Iraq International Arabic Calligraphy and Islamic Decoration Art Festival and the Second Pakistan International Calligraphy and Calligraphic Art Exhibition. Young Chinese Qaris (Qur"an reciters) regularly take part in Qu"ran recitation competitions held in Saudi Arabia， Egypt， Iran and Malaysia.
In line with cultural exchange agreements between China and a number of friendly foreign countries， the Association has sent more than 200 young Chinese Muslim students and in- service Imams to the Islamic institutes of Egypt， Libya and Pakistan for further study or short term training.
The Association has established extensive contacts with many Islamic organizations that enjoy high international reputation， and has developed friendly communications and cooperation with them. For example Ilyas Sheng Xiaxi， consultant to the Association， was a committee member of the Muslim WorldLeague Mosque Supreme Council， and was awarded the Star of Qadi Azem Medal in 1990 by president of Pakistan Ishak Khan； former vice-president and secretary-general of the Association Hanafi Wan Yaobin was a committee member of the Egyptian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council， and former vice-president of the Association Ibrahim Amin and vice secretary-general Yang Zhibo are committee members of the Supreme Council of the World Islamic Call Society.
Besides them， former vice-presidents of the Association Nu"man Ma Xian and Maimaiti Sailai were awarded the Egyptian Presidential First-Grade Special Medal and the Egyptian Presidential Academic Medal respectively by Egyptian President Mubarak. All of these are great honors for all Chinese Muslims.
The China Islamic Association has also developed friendly contacts with Muslims in Hong Kong， Macao and Taiwan， strengthening communication and cooperation with them and working strenuously for the great cause of the reunification of the motherland.
2)？ Resumption of PilgrimageOn October 19， 1979， the Chinese Muslim PilgrimDelegation with Zhang Jie as president went to Mecca forpilgrimage， thus， Chinese Muslims‘ pilgrimage was resumed after14 years‘ suspension. As the living standard keeps improving， more and more Muslims in China travel to Mecca for pilgrimage. It became much more convenient to perform pilgrimage after the Sino-Saudi Arabia diplomatic relationship was established in January of 1990. Statistics show that there are more than 70，000
Chinese Muslims that have performed pilgrimage. The friendly relations between Muslims in China and Arab countries and the rest of the world have been further strengthened through activities such as pilgrimage and visits.
In 1998， the State Religious Affairs Administration held a special meeting on pilgrimage， reiterating to its policy of organized and planned pilgrimage， and placing it in the course of regulated administration.
In 2001， the 200-person Delegation of the Chinese Muslim Pilgrims (King"s Guests) led by Yu Zhengui， vice-president and secretary-general of the China Islamic Association， successfully fulfilled the work of pilgrimage. It was the first time that China accepted the invitation of King of Saudi Arabia and organized Chinese Muslims to travel to Mecca for pilgrimage as the King"s guests. This has started a new way of organizing pilgrimage delegations for Chinese Muslims.
3)？ Cultural and Academic ExchangesThere have been frequent contacts and exchanges between the China Islamic Association and the academic circles of Islamic countries in Asia and Africa. The Association has sent many delegations and individuals to take part in various international academic activities， for example in March of 1981， Prof. Na Zhong， consultant to the Association， attended the International Muslim Scholars‘ Conference held in Islamabad， Pakistan， and delivered a paper titled “The Contributions That Islam Has Madeto World Culture“？ In March of 1983， the Association sent a delegation to participate in the International Islamic Books Exhibition held in the State Museum of Pakistan in Karachi with over a hundred varieties of books and scriptures of the Holy Qur"an， Hadith， Islamic philosophy， Islamic Law， history， Arabic calligraphy and textbooks used in Mosque Education. On December 4-8， 1987， with the help and support of the Association， the Muslim World League successfully held an Islamic seminar in Beijing. It was the first international Islamic meeting held in China since the New China was founded. The participants to the seminar were scholars from Saudi Arabia， Egypt， Pakistan， Sudan， England， Ghana and Turkey， and some Chinese Muslim scholars and the leaders of the China Islamic Association and the Beijing Municipal Islamic Association. Secretary-General of the Muslim World League Dr. Naseef presided over the meeting. The seminar focused on various topics including ”Studies on the Traditions of the Prophet“， ”Holy Qur"an， Hadith， Da"wah Workers‘ Weapon and Da"wah Method“， ”Sermon at Juma Prayer and the Da"wah Mission of Mosque“ and ”Islamic Education and Its Social Effects“？
