Bonan people

[1] The Bonan people are believed to be descended from Mongol and Central Asian soldiers stationed in Qinghai (around modern day Tongren County) during the Yuan dynasty.

Hui, Baoan, Dongxiang, Salar and Tibetan troops served under Ma Biao in the Second Sino-Japanese War against the Japanese.

Their brethren who have remained Buddhist and stayed in Tongren, are now officially classified as part of the Monguor (Tu) ethnic group, even though they speak essentially the same Bonan language.

The Buddhist Monguor of Qinghai speak a slightly different dialect than the Muslim Bonan of Gansu.

[10] The economy of the Bonan consists of farming (mainly wheat and rye), raising livestock, selling local handicrafts and working in the lumber industry.

Bonan knives are renowned for their beauty and hardness and their manufacture and sale also form an important part of the local economy.

A small minority of Bonans are Tibetan Buddhists that reside in Qinghai, but they have been largely acculturated to neighboring ethnic groups.

[3] The Bonan in Jishishan county follow a halal diet consisting mainly of beef and mutton, combined with carrots, potatoes and glass noodles.