回族

One of China's 56 official 民族 (ethnic groups) and the third-largest. The Hui are Muslim but speak Mandarin as a native language — descended largely from Arab, Persian and Central Asian traders who settled in China during the Tang-Yuan periods. Look for the green-and-white 清真 (qīngzhēn, halal) signs to find Hui restaurants — lamb skewers, hand-pulled noodles, beef soup.

回族 (the people) vs 回民 (hui people, slightly more colloquial) vs 穆斯林 (Muslim, religious category, includes non-Hui Muslims like Uyghurs and Kazakhs). Not all Chinese Muslims are Hui, and the category is ethnic, not purely religious.