Qíwù

Qiwu covers the south-western branches of Hui Chinese, taking its name from Qimen and Wuyuan, two Huizhou counties on the mountain border between Anhui and Jiangxi. The region was opened up under the Tang dynasty, when Wuyuan was established in 740 and Qimen in 766.

Its speech comprises the Xiu-Yi branch, led by the dialect of Tunxi, and the Qi-De branch spoken around Qimen and across the Jiangxi border; the latter carries heavy influence from the surrounding Gan languages. Like other Hui dialects it varies sharply from one valley to the next.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties Huizhou merchants travelled widely and kept their local speech alive in communities far from home.