Culture · Peoples · Turkic
Uyghur
维吾尔族. A Turkic-speaking people of northwest China whose oasis cities along the Silk Road produced a rich tradition of music, poetry, carpets, and flatbread cuisine.
About this people
The Uyghur people have inhabited the oasis towns and pastoral zones of the Tarim Basin and Turfan Depression for well over a thousand years. Their ancestors were nomadic Turkic confederations who settled the desert-edge oases fed by meltwater from the Tian Shan and Kunlun ranges, and whose position on the Silk Road placed them at a crossroads of Chinese, Persian, Indian, and Mediterranean influences.
The Uyghur language belongs to the Karluk branch of the Turkic family and is written in a Perso-Arabic script. Classical Uyghur literature includes the Kutadgu Bilig (Wisdom of Royal Glory, 11th century) and the poetry of Navoi, and a strong oral tradition of epic verse and the dutar — a two-stringed lute central to Uyghur music. The twelve Muqam, a suite of classical music, song, and dance, is recognised by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.
Uyghur cuisine reflects the oasis geography: nan flatbread baked in tandoor ovens, polo (rice pilaf with lamb and carrot), laghman hand-pulled noodles with stewed vegetables and meat, samsa pastries, and roasted lamb kebabs seasoned with cumin. Grapes, melons, and dried fruits from Turpan are traded throughout China. The bazaars of Kashgar and Urumqi remain vivid centres of commerce, craft, and social life where jade carving, carpet weaving, silk ikat, and copper work are practised by specialist artisans.
Key festivals
- Eid al-Fitr (Roza Heyt)
- Eid al-Adha (Qurban Heyt)
- Nowruz (spring new year)
Crafts and cuisine
Silk ikat weaving, carpet knotting, jade carving, copper and silver work; nan bread, polo pilaf, laghman noodles, lamb kebabs, Turpan grapes and melons.
Where to encounter this culture
Kashgar old town and Sunday bazaar; Turpan's Id Kah Mosque district; Urumqi's Grand Bazaar (Erdaoqiao).