bonan

The Bonan people (保安族; pinyin: bǎoān z) are an ethnic group living in Gansu and Qinghai provinces in northwestern China. Numbering approximately 12,000, they are the 7th smallest of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. The Bonan speak an Altaic language related to Mongolian and Dongxiang and are predominately Muslim. http://www.paulnoll.com/China/Minorities/min-Bonan.html They are believed to be descended from Muslim Mongol soldiers stationed in Qinghai during the Yuan or Ming dynasties and to have settled in Gansu during the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor (1862-1874).

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