Recent genetic analysis has identified a Y-DNA sample belonging to haplogroup E-V22 in a Dungan (Hui) individual from Liaoning Province, northeastern China, classified under the downstream branch E-FT178335, the same subclade Richard Blandini is descending too. This finding is particularly noteworthy, as haplogroup E-V22 is today primarily associated with the Near East, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa, and is extremely rare in East Asian populations.

An additional point of interest is that the same Y-DNA branch, E-FT178335, also includes a Greek Jewish individual from Thessaloniki (Salonika). Although the number of samples is currently limited, this shared lineage raises intriguing questions about historical genetic links between the Eastern Mediterranean, Jewish diasporic communities, and Asia.

The Dungan (Hui) are a Muslim, Chinese-speaking population historically connected to the Silk Road networks, which for centuries enabled the movement of merchants, religious communities, and individuals between the Near East, Central Asia, and China. Within this broader historical context, the presence of an E-V22 paternal lineage in northeastern China may reflect ancient western genetic inputs, introduced through long-distance trade, migration, or religious transmission.

From a historical perspective, Thessaloniki became one of the most important centers of the Sephardic Jewish diaspora following the late 15th century. After the expulsion of Jews from the Spanish Crown’s territories, which also affected Sicily in 1492, many Jewish families from Sicily and the Iberian Peninsula migrated to the Ottoman Empire. Thessaloniki emerged as a major destination, developing into a large and influential Jewish community with roots in the Western Mediterranean and the Near East.

Some scholars have also suggested potential historical links with the Kaifeng (Keifang) Jews, a Jewish community documented in China since the medieval period and generally thought to have originated in the Near East or western Central Asia. While no direct evidence currently connects the Liaoning Dungan sample to the Kaifeng Jews or to Sephardic migration routes, the presence of a shared Y-DNA branch spanning East Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean makes such hypotheses worthy of further investigation.

It should be also noted that the Liaoning Dungan sample is not an isolated case. Additional Dungan and other Chinese individuals with no documented paper trail and belonging to haplogroup E-V22 have been identified on different downstream branches, suggesting that the presence of this Near Eastern–associated lineage in China reflects multiple introductions or an older, structured genetic presence, rather than a single, recent event.