Muslim descendants of Clan Ding in Chendai

During the Yuan dynasty, the Muslim politician Sayyid-al-ajall Shames-al-din settled in China, where he became governor of the Yunnan province. Today, the descendents of Sayyid-al-ajall Shames-al-din are scattered over several provinces in China. His descendents in Quanzhou assimilated more and more to the dominant Han culture. There is an Ancestral Hall of the Ding family in Chendai. The Ding family in Chendai maintains their religious particularities, and they have become active in the preservation of the Hui minority’s heritage.