| Group: | Kazakhs in China |
| Native Name: | |
| Population: | 1,462,588 |
| Popplace: | Xinjiang (Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Aksai Kazakh Autonomous County, Barkol Kazakh Autonomous County, Mori Kazakh Autonomous County) |
| Langs: | Kazakh, Mandarin |
| Rels: | Sunni Islam |
| Related: | Turkic peoples |
| Order: | st |
| S: | 中国哈萨克族 |
| T: | 中國哈薩克族 |
| P: | Zhōngguó Hāsàkèzú |
| Lang1: | kk |
| Lang1 Content: | Kazakh: جۇڭگو قازاقتارى Kazakh: Қытайда тұратын қазақтар |
Kazakhs are a Turkic ethnic group and one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. There is one Kazakh autonomous prefectureIli in Xinjiangand three Kazakh autonomous countiesAksay in Gansu, and Barkol and Mori in Xinjiang.
During the fall of the Dzungar Khanate in the mid-18th century, the Manchus massacred the native Dzungar Oirat Mongols of Dzungaria (northern Xinjiang Province) in the Dzungar genocide, and afterwards colonized the depopulated area with immigrants from many parts of their empire. Among the peoples who moved into the depopulated Dzungaria were the Kazakhs from the Kazakh Khanates.[1]
In the 19th century, the advance of the Russian Empire troops pushed the Kazakhs to neighboring countries. Russian settlers on traditional Kazakh land drove many over the border to China, causing their population to increase in China.[2]
During the Russian Revolution, when Muslims faced conscription, Xinjiang again became a sanctuary for Kazakhs fleeing Russia.[3] During the 1920s, hundreds of thousands of Kazakh nomads moved from Soviet Kazakhstan to Xinjiang to escape Soviet persecution, famine, violence, and forced sedentarization.[4] Kazakhs that moved to China fought for the Soviet Communist-backed Uyghur Second East Turkestan Republic in the Ili Rebellion (1944–1949).
Toops estimated that 326,000 Kazakhs, 65,000 Kirghiz, 92,000 Hui, 187,000 Han, and 2,984,000 Uyghur (totaling 3,730,000) lived in Xinjiang in 1941. Hoppe estimated that 4,334,000 people lived in Xinjiang in 1949.[5]
In 1936, after Sheng Shicai expelled 30,000 Kazakhs from Xinjiang to Qinghai, Hui Chinese led by General Ma Bufang massacred Kazakhs, until there were only 135 of them left.[6]
From 1934 to 1938, Qumil Elisqan led about 18,000 Kerey Kazakhs to migrate to Gansu and Qinghai.[7] Over the span of 2 years of battles, 5,000 Kazakhs were killed by Hui Muslim Chinese and Tibetans in Gansu. Led by Eliskhan Batur Elifuglu (1919–1943), the 13,000 survivors fled towards India in September 1940.
Tibetan troops robbed and killed Kazakhs 400 miles east of Lhasa at Chamdo when the Kazakhs were entering Tibet.[8] To stop the migrants, a Tibetan cavalry numbering 1,000 attacked and fought the Kazakhs for three days in north Tibet, but ultimately lost. Afterwards, the Tibetan government sent the Kazakhs to the Ladakh region of Kashmir in British India.[9] When they arrived at the Kashmir border, many Kazakhs died when the British ordered Indian guards to shoot. Once it was realized that they were civilians, the 3,039 surviving Kazakhs were let into India via Chuchul checkpoint in September 1941. Over these 3 years, 15,000 Kazakhs were killed.
Upon crossing the border, however, the Kazakhs were unwelcome in Kashmir, and were confined to an open mountainous camp on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad. Due to poor living conditions and the monsoon rains, more Kazakhs and their livestock died daily. In April 1942, with the help of local Muslims, the Kazakhs were allowed to move to Gari Habibullah, and then Ternova village, where Indian Muslims hosted them. Nevertheless, additional Kazakhs died from illness, poor diet, and the warm climate. The remaining Kazakhs were granted residence permits, and with the help of regional nawabs, resettled elsewhere, with most eventually ending up in Pakistan after the Partition of India in 1947.[10]
(Only includes counties or county-equivalents containing >1% of county population.)
| Сounty/City | % Kazakh | Kazakh pop | Total pop | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region | 6.74 | 1,245,023 | 18,459,511 | |
| Aksay Kazakh autonomous county | 30.5 | 2,712 | 8,891 | |
| Ürümqi city | 2.34 | 48,772 | 2,081,834 | |
| Tianshan district | 1.77 | 8,354 | 471,432 | |
| Saybag district | 1.27 | 6,135 | 482,235 | |
| Xinshi district | 1.06 | 4,005 | 379,220 | |
| Dongshan district | 1.96 | 1,979 | 100,796 | |
| Ürümqi county | 8.00 | 26,278 | 328,536 | |
| Karamay city | 3.67 | 9,919 | 270,232 | |
| Dushanzi district | 4.24 | 2,150 | 50,732 | |
| Karamay district | 3.49 | 5,079 | 145,452 | |
| Baijiantan district | 3.35 | 2,151 | 64,297 | |
| Urko district | 5.53 | 539 | 9,751 | |
| Hami city | 8.76 | 43,104 | 492,096 | |
| Yizhou district | 2.71 | 10,546 | 388,714 | |
| Barkol Kazakh autonomous county | 34.01 | 29,236 | 85,964 | |
| Yiwu county | 19.07 | 3,322 | 17,418 | |
| Changji Hui autonomous prefecture | 7.98 | 119,942 | 1,503,097 | |
| Changji city | 4.37 | 16,919 | 387,169 | |
| Fukang city | 7.83 | 11,984 | 152,965 | |
| Midong district | 1.94 | 3,515 | 180,952 | |
| Hutubi county | 10.03 | 21,118 | 210,643 | |
| Manas county | 9.62 | 16,410 | 170,533 | |
| Qitai county | 10.07 | 20,629 | 204,796 | |
| Jimsar county | 8.06 | 9,501 | 117,867 | |
| Mori Kazakh autonomous county | 25.41 | 19,866 | 78,172 | |
| Bortala Mongol autonomous prefecture | 9.14 | 38,744 | 424,040 | |
| Bole city | 7.10 | 15,955 | 224,869 | |
| Jinghe county | 8.27 | 11,048 | 133,530 | |
| Wenquan county | 17.89 | 11,741 | 65,641 | |
| Ili Kazakh autonomous prefecture | 1.78 | 5,077 | 285,299 | |
| Kuytun city | 1.78 | 5,077 | 285,299 | |
| Ili prefecture direct-controlled territories | 22.55 | 469,634 | 2,082,577 | |
| Ghulja city | 4.81 | 17,205 | 357,519 | |
| Ghulja county | 10.30 | 39,745 | 385,829 | |
| Qapqal Xibe autonomous county | 20.00 | 32,363 | 161,834 | |
| Huocheng county | 7.96 | 26,519 | 333,013 | |
| Gongliu county | 29.69 | 45,450 | 153,100 | |
| Xinyuan county | 43.43 | 117,195 | 269,842 | |
| Zhaosu county | 48.43 | 70,242 | 145,027 | |
| Tekes county | 42.25 | 56,571 | 133,900 | |
| Nilka county | 45.15 | 64,344 | 142,513 | |
| Tacheng prefecture | 24.21 | 216,020 | 892,397 | |
| Tacheng city | 15.51 | 23,144 | 149,210 | |
| Usu city | 9.93 | 18,907 | 190,359 | |
| Emin county | 33.42 | 59,586 | 178,309 | |
| Shawan county | 16.23 | 30,621 | 188,715 | |
| Toli county | 68.98 | 55,102 | 79,882 | |
| Yumin county | 32.42 | 15,609 | 48,147 | |
| Hoboksar Mongol autonomous county | 22.59 | 13,051 | 57,775 | |
| Altay prefecture | 51.38 | 288,612 | 561,667 | |
| Altay city | 36.80 | 65,693 | 178,510 | |
| Burqin county | 57.31 | 35,324 | 61,633 | |
| Koktokay county | 69.68 | 56,433 | 80,986 | |
| Burultokay county | 31.86 | 24,793 | 77,830 | |
| Kaba county | 59.79 | 43,889 | 73,403 | |
| Qinggil county | 75.61 | 40,709 | 53,843 | |
| Jiminay county | 61.39 | 21,771 | 35,462 |
Some Kazakhs are nomadic herders and raise sheep, goats, cattle, and horses. These nomadic Kazakhs migrate seasonally in search of pasture for their animals. During the summer the Kazakhs live in yurts, while in winter they settle and live in modest houses made of adobe or cement blocks. Others live in urban areas and tend to be highly educated and hold much influence in integrated communities. The Islam practiced by the Kazakhs in China contains many elements of shamanism, ancestor worship, and other traditional beliefs and practices.[11]
