Central Asia Hides a Group of "Chinese People": They Speak Shaanxi-Gansu Dialects and Eat Hand-Pulled Noodles, Yet Have Lived in Kyrgyzstan for 150 Years

Would you believe it? In the distant land of Kyrgyzstan lives a unique ethnic group—people who look like Chinese, speak like natives of Shaanxi, and eat like the people of Northwest China.

They are known as the Dungan people. Though they do not reside in China, they possess the deepest understanding of the nostalgia associated with China's Northwest.

Who are they? Here is the concise answer:

The Dungan people are the descendants of Hui Muslims who migrated westward from China's Shaanxi and Gansu provinces to Central Asia over a century ago. Fleeing the turmoil of war, they traveled westward until finally settling in what are today Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.

In Kyrgyzstan, they primarily reside in the areas surrounding Bishkek, Tokmok, and the Chuy River Valley. They constitute the country's most distinctive ethnic minority—and the only population in the world to have preserved the Shaanxi-Gansu dialect of the late Qing Dynasty era in its entirety to this day.

The Most Fascinating Aspect: Shaanxi Natives Can Understand Their Speech

The Dungan people speak neither Russian nor Kyrgyz. Their mother tongue is the *Guanzhong* dialect of Shaanxi and Gansu from the late Qing Dynasty.

For instance:

A "school" is called a *xuetang* (study hall).

A "shop" is called a *puzi* (storefront).

A "leader" is called a *touzi* (chieftain/boss).

"Eating a meal" is called *die fan* (a regional colloquialism).

"Thank you" is expressed as *nanwei ni le* (I’ve put you to trouble).

Listening to them converse feels like being transported back in time to a Northwest Chinese village of over a century ago. Even more astonishing is this: they write their Chinese dialect using the Cyrillic alphabet—a practice unique in the world.

The Most "Chinese" Aspect: Hand-Pulled Noodles, *Saozi* Noodles, *Sanzi* Crisps, and Banquets—All Bursting with Northwest Flavor

If you were to step into a Dungan home, you would instantly feel a sense of temporal disorientation:

In the morning, they eat *mantou* (steamed buns), porridge, and pickled vegetables; at noon, they enjoy hand-pulled noodles, *Saozi* noodles, and *youpo* noodles (noodles dressed with hot oil). During festivals, they fry *sanzi* (crispy dough twists) and *youxiang* (fried dough cakes); for weddings and funerals, they host elaborate banquet feasts with long tables. Inside their homes, they hang traditional couplets, strictly observe generational hierarchy, and place great emphasis on proper etiquette.

Their daily habits and lifestyle resemble those of traditional Northwest Chinese people far more closely than do the habits of many urban residents in China today.

The Most Precious Aspect: They Have Not Forgotten Their Roots

Despite having lived in Central Asia for 150 years—and having lived through the eras of Tsarist Russia, the Soviet Union, and the three independent nations formed thereafter—they have never forgotten where they came from. The Dungan people have never forgotten: We come from China.

They:

Preserve traditional Chinese courtyard architecture;

Uphold the system of family seniority;

Teach their children to speak the "language of the old homeland";

Continue to observe Chinese customs during festivals and holidays;

Feel a profound sense of kinship with people from China.

Many Dungan elders, upon meeting a Chinese person for the first time, will take them by the hand and say: "Our old home is in Shaanxi—or Gansu!"

Most remarkably: They are the "living cultural fossils" of Central Asia.

In Kyrgyzstan, the Dungan constitute the smallest—yet most distinctive—ethnic group.

Unlike the Kyrgyz, they do not lead a nomadic lifestyle; unlike the Uzbeks, they do not focus primarily on commerce; and unlike the Russians, they are not engaged in heavy industry.

In a foreign land, they steadfastly guard their heritage: a unique dialect, a bowl of noodles, and a Chinese heart—quietly preserving a living fragment of Chinese history.

The world is vast, and homesickness runs deep. At the foot of the distant Tian Shan mountains lives a community of people who have never once returned to their ancestral homeland—yet for 150 years, they have preserved its language, its flavors, and its customs in their entirety.

These are the Dungan people of Kyrgyzstan—Central Asia’s gentlest, most unique, and most quintessentially "Chinese-hearted" community.