Their father Ma Qi formed the Ninghai Army in Qinghai in 1915, and received civilian and military posts from the Beiyang Government in Beijing in that same year confirming his military and civilian authority in Qinghai.

[8] In July 1942 Chiang Kai-shek instructed Ma Buqing to move 30,000 of his troops to the Tsaidam marsh in the Qaidam Basin of Qinghai.

[9][10] Chiang named Ma Reclamation Commissioner, to threaten Sheng Shicai's southern flank in Xinjiang, which bordered Tsaidam.

Liangzhou District in Wuwei was previously his headquarters in Gansu, where he controlled 15 million Muslims.

[11] In 1949, Ma Buqing evacuated with his family to Taiwan along with the Kuomintang Republic of China government becoming advisor to the Ministry of Defense.