Culture · Religion · Sufism (苏菲派)
Salar Sufism
撒拉族苏菲派 · The Sufi mystical Islam of China's Salar people in Qinghai — Central Asian origins, Naqshbandiyya and Qadiriyya orders, and the unique cultural fusion of the Yellow River gorge.
About this tradition
The Salar people (撒拉族, Sālā Zú) are a Turkic-speaking Muslim ethnic group living primarily in Xunhua Salar Autonomous County, Qinghai, along the Yellow River gorge near Jishixia. Their population is approximately 130,000. They practise a form of Islam deeply influenced by Central Asian Sufi brotherhoods — most significantly the Naqshbandiyya (纳合西班底耶) and Qadiriyya (噶德忍耶) orders.
The Salar origin tradition holds that their ancestors migrated from the Samarkand region (present-day Uzbekistan) in the 14th century during the Yuan dynasty, guided by a white camel that turned to stone upon reaching their destination at the Yellow River. The stone camel is preserved at the founding mosque in Jishi village. The Salar language is a Turkic tongue related to Uzbek, though most Salar people are now bilingual in Chinese; it is listed as an endangered language.
Sufi practice among the Salar centres on the menhuan (门宦, 'gate and household') system — a network of tariqas (orders) organised around the lineage of a founding shaykh. Each menhuan follows the practices transmitted from its founding master, which may include dhikr (rhythmic remembrance of God, known in Chinese contexts as zikr) — repeated invocation, sometimes with physical movement, sometimes in silent inner concentration.
The Qinghai Islamic culture area, which includes Salar, Hui, and Dongxiang Muslims, is home to a distinctive form of Chinese Islamic architecture. The Xunhua Grand Mosque and surrounding village mosques feature the corridor-style courtyard plan common to northwest China's Islamic heritage.
The Jishi Gorge area combines the Salar heritage with dramatic Yellow River scenery and is accessible as a day trip from Xining (approximately 2.5 hours by road).
Key monasteries and temples
- Xunhua Grand Mosque, Xunhua County (Qinghai)
- Jishi (Jiezi) Village Founding Mosque, Xunhua — origin site of the Salar migration legend
- Qinghai Islamic Cultural Tourism Zone, Xunhua — interpretive centre for Salar heritage
- Dongguang Mosque, Xining — major Sufi heritage mosque serving the Qinghai capital
Where to experience it
Xunhua County is the primary destination for Salar heritage. Xining is the gateway city (Xining–Xunhua takes approximately 2.5 hours by expressway). The Jishixia Grand Canyon scenic area combines geological scenery with the cultural context of the Salar region. An overnight in Xunhua allows time at the founding village and the gorge scenery; most visitors combine this with the Kumbum Monastery in Xining.