Allegedly, heroin is readily available in the bars, karaoke clubs and dance halls that are all the rage among by small businessmen. Witnesses say prostitutes openly smoke heroin, and intravenous use is growing. The drug is reportedly brought in via Yunnan by the Hui moslem community, which has a strong presence in the region. Religious leaders in Yinchuan, the capital of Ningxia, acknowledge that the Hui, known for their smuggling using mule trains, are actively organizing the drug trade. They also grow poppies for pharmaceutical purposes in neighboring Gansu.
Local residents say some of the crop is diverted to supply the local drug market.
Moslem Hui were sentenced to death last year in Yunnan, Shanghai, and Zhongwei, in the west of Ningxia. However these reports must be viewed with caution, because the Chinese government is traditionally centralist and xenophobic, especially with regard to moslems. Islam is officially recognized in China but is kept under tight control by central and local authorities. Anti-Han demonstrations are commonplace in regions with large Hui and Uigur moslem minorities, and several bomb attacks occured in Beijing in spring 1997. The attacks came after the bloody repression of demonstrations in Xining, Xinjiang province, in February 1997.