[theold]

Syrian but with China's setting due to the influence of the Chinese Civilisation, a dream land.

The original story of ‘Aladdin’ is, maybe surprisingly, set in China. 

In the earliest versions of the story, Aladdin is Chinese. He’s also not an orphaned street urchin but a lazy boy living at home with his mother. 

All the characters in the tale are also Chinese apart from the wicked magician who is from North Africa. Some scenes of the story take place in North Africa, but we remain in China for the majority of the story.


https://www.pookpress.co.uk/project/hist...din-story/

[theold]

But in early Arabic usage, China was often just a symbol for a faraway land, as in the famous saying attributed to the Prophet: “Seek knowledge even as far as China.” It is in this sense of an abstract, exotic place that China tends to appear in the Nights. The Hunchback’s Tale, for example, is also set in China and features a tailor and his wife, just like Aladdin’s parents.

https://ajammc.com/2017/08/10/who-was-the-real-aladdin/

[WhatDoYouThink!]

They'll be more such claims - a sign of china's rise.