Alopen is the first recorded Christian missionary to reach China, during the Tang Dynasty. He was an envoy of the Assyrian Church of the East(commonly labelled 'Nestorian') to the Chinese, but the mission did not gain widespread momentum. During that time, Tang China welcomed all sorts of foreigners ranging from Arab Muslims, Syrian Christians, Turks and Sassanid Persians. The Tang Emperor of Alopen's time, Tang Taizong, was hospitable towards the church mission, but he did not embrace the faith, being a devout Buddhist like most Chinese. Nestorianism eventually died out in China when the Tang Dynasty collapsed, but was revived among Central Asians like the Khitans and Mongols around the Middle Ages.