Millions of Muslims across China celebrated Eid al-Fitr Monday, the festival that signaled the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan -- a season of fasting and spiritual reflection.

Early on Monday, Muslims of different ethnic groups in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region as well as other Muslim-populated regions donned festive costume and swarmed to mosques to hear preaching given by imams.

During Ramadan, the ninth month of the year in the Muslim calendar, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from sunrise to sunset. But children, elderly people and the weak do not have to observe the fast.

China has now 20 million Muslims, about half of them being from the Hui ethnic group.