FPeopleTurkic peoples of China

Yugurs (Yellow Uyghurs)

Descendants of Uyghurs who moved to Gansu after the fall of the Uyghur Khaganate. A Buddhist Turkic people, they preserve features of Old Uyghur.

Sunan — gate of the Yugur Scenic Corridor — Terry Wu / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

The Yellow Uyghurs are descendants of Uyghurs who moved into the Gansu Corridor after the Uyghur Khaganate fell in 840. They kept Buddhism rather than adopting Islam and today live in the Sunan Yugur Autonomous County of Gansu province, China.

China's figure covers all Yugurs: the western group speaks a Turkic language (Western Yugur) and the eastern group a Mongolic one. Western Yugur preserves many features of Old Uyghur and is endangered.

Updated: September 28, 2026