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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
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Spanish - Español | Tagalog / Filipino
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The Dongxiang of China

The Dongxiang of China, numbering approximately 821,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Mongolic people of Gansu, centered in Dongxiang Autonomous County near Linxia, whose origins reflect Yuan-era Central Asian arrivals and admixture with local peoples. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Dongxiang is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Dongxiang

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: East Asian Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Chinese-Hui
Primary Language(s): Dongxiang (sce)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 821,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006729
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Pray for the Dongxiang of China

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

100%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Dongxiang
Language Family: Mongolic-Khitan

70%
%
Dongxiang Speakers

Media Resources in Dongxiang:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Dongxiang:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Dongxiang bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Dongxiang are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Dongxiang:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Dongxiang of China

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
readPsalm 9:9-10

Pray that God will help those who are oppressed and without hope to hear the good news of Jesus and trust in Him, for He has never forsaken those who seek Him.

...I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
readPsalm 13:5

Ask God to bring many to trust in His unfailing love and cause their hearts to rejoice in His salvation.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
readRomans 10:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be eager to proclaim the good news of peace, knowing that the Lord has called them to this task.

Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
readPsalm 134:1

Pray that God will raise up believers among them who are in awe of Him and that, in service to Him, they will share the gospel with others so that they too may bless the Lord!

Dongxiang Across Countries (ROP3 - 114044) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▲Religion
DongxiangPG006729DongxiangChina821,000Engaged yet UnreachedDongxiangSunni Islam

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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