Half of the population live in Dongxiang Autonomous County, Linxia Prefecture, Gansu Province, China.

[2] Chinese historians generally agreed that Dongxiang are the descendants of Central Asians migrated to Mongol-ruled China.

[2] The name Dongxiang is derived from them living in what was called the eastern (Dong) part of Hezhou prefecture, present day Linxia.

al. (2011) shows that the closest relative of Dongxiang men among the Chinese populations are the Tajiks in Tashkurgan, Xinjiang.

In 1937–1945, General Ma Biao brought a multiethnic troop, including Dongxiang, to fight the Second Sino-Japanese War.

[14] They are also recognized craftsmen, specializing in the elaboration of traditional carpets.An early ethnography of Dongxiang was documented in 1940 by the American Asiatic Association.

The account described them as a community of one hundred thousand, Mongol by race, Islam by religion and Chinese by culture.

Dongxiang women wear embroidered outfits which include wide sleeved shirts and trousers.

[17] The language has distinct features resembling Middle Mongolian and has up to 35% loan words borrowed from Mandarin Chinese.

In 2004, the Ford Foundation provided US$30,000 in grant money for a pilot project to promote bilingual education in Mandarin and Dongxiang, in an effort to reduce school drop-out rates.