The Fuyu Kyrgyz are a Turkic

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

who reside in

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. They primarily reside in the Fuyu County. Their ethnic ties with the Kyrgyz/Kirghiz are unclear.

Migration

The Fuyu Kyrgyz resided in the region of

East Turkestan East Turkestan or East Turkistan (, : , : ), is a loosely-defined geographical region in the northwestern part of the People's Republic of China, on the cross roads of East and Central Asia. The term was coined in the 19th century by Russi ...

, modern day

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

, until the

Qing government The Qing dynasty (1644–1912) was the last imperial dynasty of China. The early Qing emperors adopted the bureaucratic structures and institutions from the preceding Ming dynasty but split rule between the Han and Manchus with some positions als ...

forced them to move to

nearly 200 years ago. Some Fuyu Kyrgyz came from the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

to northeast China 200 years before that. Some Fuyu Kyrgyz from

Dzungaria Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand'), also known as Northern Xinjiang or Beijiang, is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang. Bound by the Altai Mountains to the n ...

moved to

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

in 1761.

Relations with the Khakas

The

Khakas The Khakas are a Turkic indigenous people of Siberia, who live in the republic of Khakassia, Russia. They speak the Khakas language. The Khakhassian people are direct descendants of various ancient cultures that have inhabited southern Siberia ...

are one of the closest groups to the Fuyu Kyrgyz. The Fuyu Kyrgyz went by the name ''Khonkoro'' during their exile.

Language

Although the Fuyu Kyrgyz number more than 1,400, only 10 people speak the language and most people have shifted to the

Mongolic language The Mongolic languages are a language family spoken by the Mongolic peoples in North Asia, East Asia, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe mostly in Mongolia and surrounding areas and in Kalmykia and Buryatia. The best-known member of this language f ...

Oirat or

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

. It is closely related to

Culture

Many of the Fuyu Kyrgyz are cattle breeders and are also involved in hunting. The Fuyu Kyrgyz used to live in Mongolic-Turkic yurts, and the people wear loose clothing and belts. The Fuyu Kyrgyz instruments include the Khakas Khakashomysu. The Fuyu Kyrgyz and

Tuva Tuva (; ) or Tyva (; ), officially the Republic of Tyva,; , is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. Tuva lies at the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders the Federal subjects of Russia, federal sub ...

are one of the only Turkic groups in China which have not been recognised by the government as well as the

Äynu people The Äynu (also Ainu, Abdal or Aini) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic people native to the Xinjiang region of China, where they are an Unrecognized ethnic groups in China, unrecognized ethnic group legally counted as Uyghurs. They speak the Äynu lan ...

References

{{Turkic peoples Ethnic groups in China Turkic peoples of Asia Heilongjiang