It has been a long journey for monk Mingxian and monk Huizai. Retracing the famous silk route between India and China, the two monks arrived in Nalanda, four months after they set out on foot from Xi'an in China.

The monks, who took the route taken by famous Chinese scholar Xuanzang (602-664 AD), received a warm welcome at Nalanda, the historic seat of learning in Bihar. The main purpose of their journey was to spread the message of non-violence, peace and harmony as preached by Buddha.

Xuanzang travelled from the city of Chang'an, which is now called Xi'an, in Shaanxi Province, to India to obtain Buddhist scriptures and study, returning 17 years later. His remarkable adventures inspired the Chinese classic 'A Journey to the West.'

The two Chinese monks -- Mingxian from Donglin Temple in east China's Jiangxi Province and Monk Huizai from Taiwan -- set off from Xi'an in China on July 19 as part of a programme called 'Follow the Footprints of Xuanzang,' organized under an international cultural  exchange programme.

"The two monks and other members of the team completed the journey on foot and arrived in Nalanda after offering prayers at the famous Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya where Buddha attained enlightened," Ravindra Panth, director of the Nav Nalanda Mahavihara told rediff.com on Monday over telephone.

"They were received at the Xuanzang Memorial Hall in Nalanda and gifted a statue of Xuanzang and a silk scroll," he said.

In return, the Chinese monks gifted travel accounts written on bamboo scroll by Xuanzang to the Mahavihara. They also gifted another travel account written in blood by a 100-year-old Chinese monk.