THE HUI PEOPLE OF SW CHINA

     The Hui are a large ethnic group defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims.  They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road merchants.

     In the 13th century Mongol forces swooped into the province to outflank the Song dynasty troops and were followed by Muslim traders's builders and craftsmen.  Yunnan was the only region put under a Muslim leader immediately after Kublai Khan's armies arrived.

     Of the province's approximately 550,000 Hui,  Kunming holds the lion's share, with otheer populations centered in the counties of Xundian and Weishan.

    Not long after, mosques were raised with the new Yuan Dynasty.  A Muslim was entrusted to build the first Mongol palace in Beijing and an observatory based on Persian models was also constructed here.  Dozens of Arabic texts were translated and consulted by Chinese scientists, influencing Chinese mathematics more than any other source.  Muslims are proud of their Cheng Ho, the famed enuch admiral who opened up the Chinese sea channels to the Middle East and may actually have been the first to voyage to the Americas.

      Heavy land taxes and disputes between Muslims and Han Chinese over local gold and silver mines triggered a Muslim uprising in 1855 and after a short success, the Qing forces returned in 1873 leaving up to 18 million dead nationwide and confirming the Han control of Hui regions.

         Even though they are not ethnically Han Chinese, they have similar cultural practices with the exception that they practice Islam and follow Islamic dietary laws and reject the consumption of pork, the most common meat consumed in China.  Their mode of dress also differs primarily is that men wear white caps and women wear hadscarves or occasionally veils, as is the case in most Islamic cultures.

     Hui women are self aware of their relativee freedom as Chinese women in contrast to the status of Arab women in countries like Saudi Arabia.  Hui women point out these restrictions as "low status", and feel better to be Chinese than to be Arab.