Uighur Craftsman
Many Uighur live a lifestyle that has changed little over the centuries. Craftsmen such as this metal worker are often seen on the streets, working outside their home or shop.
Who are the Uighur?
The Uighur are an ancient Turkic ethnic group from the Altai Mountains that have been recorded to exist as early as 300 BCE. They now live primarily in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China and their greatest concentration is seen in the two principal cities of the region - Kashgar and Urumqi.
The Uighurs prospered from agriculture and Silk Road trade and became a dominant force in Central Asia for over a thousand years. They founded Buddhism within Central Asia but later were the first in the area to embrace Islam. Their major contributions, however, were in the fields of medicine (possibly bringing medicines and acupuncture to China), architecture, administration, the arts and language. The Uighur developed their own script that was used for 800 years by the Turkic tribes of Central Asia, the Manchus and the Mongols.
Ethnic Chinese invasion into the Uighur territory began in the 17th century when the Manchus made East Turkistan part of the Qing empire. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Uighur battled the Chinese Manchu for autonomy but they finally succumbed to the Chinese who were financed, as part of the Great Game, by the British who wanted a buffer between British India and Russia. The East Turkestan conquered by China was renamed Xinjiang or "new territory" in 1884.
Kashgar, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, China
Uighur Craftsman
Many Uighur live a lifestyle that has changed little over the centuries. Craftsmen such as this metal worker are often seen on the streets, working outside their home or shop.
Who are the Uighur?
The Uighur are an ancient Turkic ethnic group from the Altai Mountains that have been recorded to exist as early as 300 BCE. They now live primarily in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China and their greatest concentration is seen in the two principal cities of the region - Kashgar and Urumqi.
The Uighurs prospered from agriculture and Silk Road trade and became a dominant force in Central Asia for over a thousand years. They founded Buddhism within Central Asia but later were the first in the area to embrace Islam. Their major contributions, however, were in the fields of medicine (possibly bringing medicines and acupuncture to China), architecture, administration, the arts and language. The Uighur developed their own script that was used for 800 years by the Turkic tribes of Central Asia, the Manchus and the Mongols.
Ethnic Chinese invasion into the Uighur territory began in the 17th century when the Manchus made East Turkistan part of the Qing empire. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Uighur battled the Chinese Manchu for autonomy but they finally succumbed to the Chinese who were financed, as part of the Great Game, by the British who wanted a buffer between British India and Russia. The East Turkestan conquered by China was renamed Xinjiang or "new territory" in 1884.
Kashgar, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, China