Claim: The Hui people are concentrated in China.

The Hui people -LRB- , Xiao'erjing : خُوِذُو Dungan : Хуэйзў , Xuejzw -RRB- are a Chinese ethnic group which is composed predominantly of adherents of the Muslim faith and found throughout China , though they are concentrated mainly in the Northwestern provinces of the country and the Zhongyuan . According to a 2011 census , China is home to approximately 10.5 million Hui people , the majority of whom are Chinese-speaking practitioners of Islam , though some may practice other religions .   Hui people are ethnically and linguistically similar to Han Chinese with the exception that most of them practice Islam , engendering distinctive cultural characteristics . For example , as Muslims , they follow Islamic dietary laws and reject the consumption of pork , the most common meat consumed in China , and have given rise to their variation of Chinese cuisine . Traditional Hui clothing differs from that of other Chinese groups as it incorporates elements primarily found in other Islamic cultures . However , since the rapid industrialization and modernization of China , younger generations have slowly been shifting towards Western dress code .   The Hui people are one of 56 ethnic groups recognized by China . The government defines the Hui people to include all historically Muslim communities not included in China 's other ethnic groups . The Hui predominantly speak Chinese , while maintaining some Persian and Arabic phrases . In fact , the Hui ethnic group is unique among Chinese ethnic minorities in that it associates with non-Sinitic languages .   The Hui people are more concentrated in Northwestern China -LRB- Ningxia , Gansu , Qinghai , Xinjiang -RRB- , but communities exist across the country , e.g. Beijing , Inner Mongolia , Hebei , Hainan , and Yunnan .