—Chaghatay/Qarluk Turks—
–East Turkistan and Uyghurs
Population: East Turkistan (China)-10,000,000 (2000); Kazakhstan-223,100 (2009); Kyrgyzstan-49,000 (2009)
Religion: Islam
Facts: Their province is the largest province in China; The Chinese jade you buy is most likely Uyghur jade. Around 90% of “Chinese” jade comes from Hotan, East Turkistan.
–Uzbekistan and Uzbeks
Population: Uzbekistan-29,559,100 (2012); Afghanistan-4,100,000 (2012); Tajikistan-2,000,000 (2012); Kyrgyzstan-980,000 (2012); Other countries with Uzbek populations are Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and China.
Religion: Islam
Facts: The founder of TAU is Uzbek 🙂
–Yugur Turks or Yellow Uyghurs
Population: Gansu, China-15,000 (2012)
Religion: Tibetan Buddhism and Tengrism
Facts: Scholars believe that the language, culture, and religion is closer to ancient Uyghur than modern Uyghur is. It’s believed that the Yugur have kept their original, pre-Islamic Uyghur culture more than modern-day Uyghurs have; Their language is split into two main dialects, the western dialect is closer to Turkic, and the eastern dialect is closer to Mongolic; Their language has no written form, so they write in Chinese.
–Aynu Turks
Population: 30,000 (2001)
Religion: Islam
Facts: Their origins are unknown, some believe their ancestors were Persian, because their language has such a large amount of Persian vocabulary.