For over 300 years beginning from the mid-Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Hui merchants were one of the most influential merchant groups, and in fact were the strongest of all merchants groups in China at that time.

Hui merchants' steps reached almost half of China, east to the ocean and west to the desert. In the then rich Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, it was said that the local prosperity could be attributed to Hui merchants' efforts. And in Hankou, capital city of Central China's Wuhan province, Hui merchants built a luxurious town assembly hall and opened a special dock along the river for Hui merchants' goods.

Huizhou is a poor town among the mountains of Central China's Anhui province. Coming out of such a barren land, what enabled Hui merchants to successfully find wealth all around China?

Hui merchants were honest. Apart from their extraordinary diligence and endurance, the sincere belief in honesty and morality is said to be the main factor of their success. Almost all Hui merchants believed that without honesty and morality, there would be no benefits.