Islam has a long history in China. The first envoys from Arabia came to China in 651AD to pay tribute to the Tang Emperor Yong Hui.
During the Tang (618-907) and Song dynasties (960-1279) Arab and Persian traders, arriving via maritime routes, were allowed to live
in cities such as Guangzhou.
A second wave of Muslim immigration occurred via the Silk Road during the Mongolian (1279-1368) and Manchurian (1368-1644)
dynasties, into the western provinces such as Ningxia.
Many of the Arab and Persian traders from both waves stayed, built mosques, and had families with local Chinese. Today the
descendents of these Muslims form the Hui ethnic group, one of ten Islamic minorities in China.
Since China initiated its policy of developing its western region in 1999, Ningxia, and other western provinces have strengthened
economic and trade ties with Arab countries. This in turn has inspired a growing interest in Koran and Arabic studies amongst Chinese
Muslims, particularly among the Hui.
Many of China’s Muslims belong to non-Chinese ethnicities, such as the Turkic Uighurs of Xinjiang province. For a number of
scholars, the Hui are China’s only Muslims for which their Chinese ethnicity arises as a genuine question: are they Muslim Chinese or
Chinese Muslims?
The politically correct answer, of course, is that they are both. It is politically pragmatic for the Hui, particularly those with roles in
government and state-sanctioned Islamic organizations, to view themselves first as Chinese. But this is complicated by their Arab
and Persian ancestry, which many revere, despite its location in the distant past. And they are increasingly proud of their affinity with
Muslims worldwide, as more and more return from studies in Arab countries.
The photos in this gallery are part of an ongoing project.