[1][2][3][4][5] In July and August, 1975, the uprising and the subsequent military suppression took place in several villages of Yunnan Province in southwest China, especially at the Shadian Town of Gejiu City.

[1][2] In 1975, local Hui people attempted to forcefully re-open the mosques shut down by the government during the Cultural Revolution, escalating the conflict and attracting the attention of Beijing.

[8] During the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), as part of the campaign to destroy the "Four Olds", the People's Liberation Army had shut down mosques and burned religious books.

[2] In early 1975, representatives of both sides were called to a meeting in Beijing, where truce was brokered, only to be broken immediately on the ground in Shadian when confusion arose regarding how to handle the "illegal" weapons possessed by the local villagers.

[1][2] On 5 July 1975, the Central Committee of the CCP issued a directive signed by Chairman Mao Zedong, ordering the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to bring the situation under control if all other attempts to end the tense standoff failed.

[8][7] After the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976, the Communist Party provincial committee in Yunnan reviewed and investigated the Shadian Incident during the "Boluan Fanzheng" period, subsequently rehabilitating the victims and offering official apologies in February 1979.

[16][17] After the launch of "Reform and Opening" by Deng Xiaoping and his allies, such as Hu Yaobang, in 1978, the Malaysian and Middle East markets were granted more access and special treatment by the government.