Take a look at the Muslim side of China ! 🇨🇳 ☪🕌

Islam reached China during the Tang dynasty, roughly 20 years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Muslim merchants (especially Arabs and Persians) travelled to China along both the overland Silk Road and maritime trade routes and spread Islam, establishing some of China’s earliest Muslim communities.

China officially recognizes 56 ethnic groups, with the Han Chinese making up more than 90% of the population. Muslims can be found across these groups, but 10 of them are officially associated with Islam.

(Note: the data doesn’t include minors )



I’ll explain the two largest, plus one smaller group worth mentioning at the end.

1. The Hui

The Hui are the largest predominantly Muslim ethnic group in China. When they are not wearing distinctive religious clothing, Hui people can often be difficult to distinguish visually from Han Chinese. They are spread throughout China and generally speak Chinese.

Historically, Hui communities developed through a mixture of Han Chinese converts to Islam and Muslim merchants, soldiers, and migrants from Central Asia, Persia, and the Arab world. Some arrived through centuries of Silk Road trade, while others were brought or resettled within China during the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty.

Genetically, most Hui are predominantly East Asian and closely related to surrounding Han Chinese populations, although some Hui communities retain varying levels of Central Asian or West Eurasian ancestry.

A common Hui surname is Ma (马), which amusingly means “horse” in Chinese. Among Hui Muslims however, it became widely associated with the name Muhammad, as Ma was commonly used as a shortened Chinese rendering of the name Muhammad.

Being Hui is not strictly a religious identity in China, so technically a person can be Hui without being Muslim. Many Hui today are non-practising or atheist while still identifying officially as Hui especially since ethnic minorities in China have certain perks including advantages in university entrance policies and exemptions or more relaxed limits from historical family-planning regulations.

Hui people:



Hui mosques:



Hui food:

One of the most famous dishes associated with China’s Hui Muslim communities is Lanzhou beef noodle soup (兰州牛肉面). It has become so iconic that Lanzhou even has a museum dedicated to the history and culture of the dish.



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2. The Uyghurs

The Uyghurs are the second-largest predominantly Muslim ethnic group in China. They live mainly in Xinjiang, in northwestern China.

Genetically, Uyghurs typically have substantial ancestry from both East Asian and Central Asian/West Eurasian populations, reflecting Xinjiang’s long history as a crossroads between East and Central Asia.

Culturally and linguistically, the Uyghurs are distinctly Turkic and Central Asian. They have their own language, music, cuisine, and traditional clothing, with strong cultural similarities to other Central Asian peoples, particularly groups such as the Uzbeks.

One reason the Uyghurs receive far more international attention than the Hui is that the issue surrounding Xinjiang is not purely religious it also involves ethnic identity. Some Uyghur separatist movements have historically sought to establish an independent state in Xinjiang.

Uyghur people:



Uyghur language:

The Uyghur language is a Turkic language (Turkic ≠ Turkish ) and is most commonly written using a modified Arabic script.



Uyghur mosques:


Uyghur food:

Popular Uyghur foods include laghman noodles, polo (pilaf), and nan bread.



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3. The Bonan

The Bonan people are a small, officially recognized ethno-linguistic minority living primarily in the provinces of Gansu and Qinghai in northwestern China.

Numbering around only 20,000 people, the Bonan trace much of their heritage to Mongol soldiers and artisans who settled in the region during the Yuan and Ming periods. Over time, they intermarried with neighbouring populations and adopted Islam.

Today, the Bonan are particularly well known for their traditional knife-making craftsmanship.