Iranian people, such as Persians and Sogdians, have lived in China throughout various periods in history.
Detail of the stone panel painting on the sarcophagus, depicting two nimbate male figures dressing in Sasanian-style attire, drinking wine and playing pipa. Tomb of Yu Hong, 6th century CE.
Left: a man holding a plate of fruits; right: a bearded man is performing the Huteng ("Barbarian leap") dance. Both figures have haloes. Tomb of Yu Hong, 6th century CE.
Persian ambassador at the Chinese court of Emperor Yuan of Liang in his capital Jingzhou in 526-539 CE, with explanatory text. Portraits of Periodical Offering of Liang, 11th century Song copy.
Tang-dynasty foreigner. Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an
Sayyid Ajall Shams al-Din Omar al-Bukhari was Yunnan's first provincial governor, appointed by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China.
Ajall Shams al-Din Omar
Tomb of Sayyid Ajall Shams al-Din Omar al-Bukhari ibn Sayyid Kamal ad-Din bin Sayyid Shams al-Din Omar al-Bukhari, Yunnan, Yuan, China