The first group of Chinese Muslim pilgrims to Mecca in Saudi Arabia this year left the northwestern province of Gansu on a chartered flight early Monday. The Air China plane with 332 pilgrims and working staff aboard took off at the Zhongchuan Airport in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu, at about 0:15 a.m.. The plane is expected to arrive in Medina at 9 a.m. local time. A total of 2,460 pilgrims in Gansu, the largest number ever, will fly to pay pilgrimage to Mecca. 