The Ili Turks are a Turkic unrecognized ethnic group in China native to

Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture ( kk, Іле Қазақ автономиялық облысы) (also as Yili) is an autonomous prefecture for Kazakh people in Northern Xinjiang, China, one of five autonomous prefectures in Xinjiang. Yining City ...

in Northern

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

of China, and

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. They call themselves "Turk" or "Zhonghua Minzu". Their oral history says they came from the

Ferghana Valley The Fergana Valley (; ; ) in Central Asia lies mainly in eastern Uzbekistan, but also extends into southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan. Divided into three republics of the former Soviet Union, the valley is ethnically diverse and in the ...

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

. The distinct

Ili Turki language Ili Turki is an endangered Turkic language spoken primarily in China. In 2007, it was reported that there were around 30 families using it in China. Classification Ili Turki appears to belong to the Chagatay group of Turkic languages, although ...

belongs to the

Karluk languages The Karluk or Qarluq languages are a sub-branch of the Turkic language family that developed from the varieties once spoken by Karluks. Many Middle Turkic works were written in these languages. The language of the Kara-Khanid Khanate was known ...

, but is listed as Uzbek by Chinese authorities. The Ili Turks are nomadic and good at herding. There are many unique animal husbandry words in their language.

References

Turkic peoples of Asia Ethnic groups in Xinjiang Ethnic groups in China Indigenous peoples of East Asia Herding Nomads {{ethno-stub