Kazakhs, called Hāsàkè Zú in Chinese (哈萨克族; literally "Kazakh ethnic group") are among 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. During the fall of the Dzungar Khanate, the Manchus massacred the native Dzungar Oirat Buddhists of Dzungaria in the Dzungar genocide and filled in the depopulated area with immigrants from many parts of their empire. Kazakhs from the Kazakh Khanates were among the peoples who moved into the depopulated Dzungaria. Dzungaria was subjected to mass Kazakh settlement after the defeat of the Dzungars. In the 19th century, the advance of the Russian Empire troops pushed Kazakhs to neighboring countries. In China there is one Kazakh autonomous prefecture, the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, three Kazakh autonomous counties, Aksai Kazakh Autonomous County in Gansu, Barkol Kazakh Autonomous County and Mori Kazakh Autonomous County in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Many Kazakhs in China are not fluent in Standard Chinese, instead speaking the Kazakh language.
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Russians originally referred to Kazakhs as Kirghiz.
In the 19th century, Russian settlers on traditional Kirghiz land drove a lot of the Kirghiz over the border to China, causing their population to increase in China. Compared to Russian controlled areas, more benefits were given to the Muslim Kirghiz on the Chinese controlled areas. Russian settlers fought against the Muslim nomadic Kirghiz, which led the Russians to believe that the Kirghiz would be a liability in any conflict against China. The Muslim Kirghiz were sure that in an upcoming war, that China would defeat Russia.
To escape Russians slaughtering them in 1916, Kazakhs escaped to China. Xinjiang became a sanctuary for fleeing Kazakhs escaping the Russians after the Muslims faced conscription by the Russian government.
Soviet persecution of Kazakhs led to Kazakhs from Soviet Kazakhstan moving to Xinjiang.
An estimate of 65,000 Kirghiz, 92,000 Hui, 326,000 Kazakh, 187,000 Han, and 2,984,000 Uyghur adding up to a total population of 3,730,000 in all of Xinjiang in 1941 was estimated by Toops, and 4,334,000 people lived in Xinjiang according to Hoppe in 1949.
The Kazakhs had settled in the Dzungaria area of Xinjiang after the Dzungar genocide by the Manchus wiped out most of the native Dzungar Oirats and fleeing from Soviet engineered famines against the Kazakhs like the Kazakh famine of 1919–1922 and Kazakhstan famine of 1932-1933. The Kazakhs had defected to the Republic of China and fought against the Soviet Communist backed Uyghur Second East Turkestan Republic in the Ili Rebellion.
The Turkistan Islamic Party's media army Islam Awazi released a "Visual Nasheed" (النشيد المرئي) titled "Return to Your Religion" (إرجع الى دينك) (دىنىڭە قايت) in the Kazakh language.
Kazakh exodus
In 1936, after Sheng Shicai expelled 30,000 Kazakhs from Xinjiang to Qinghai, Hui led by General Ma Bufang massacred their fellow Muslim Kazakhs, until there were 135 of them left.
From Northern Xinjiang over 7,000 Kazakhs fled to the Tibetan-Qinghai plateau region via Gansu and were wreaking massive havoc so Ma Bufang solved the problem by relegating the Kazakhs into designated pastureland in Qinghai, but Hui, Tibetans, and Kazakhs in the region continued to clash against each other.
Tibetans attacked and fought against the Kazakhs as they entered Tibet via Gansu and Qinghai.
In northern Tibet Kazakhs clashed with Tibetan soldiers and then the Kazakhs were sent to Ladakh.
Tibetan troops robbed and killed Kazakhs 400 miles east of Lhasa at Chamdo when the Kazakhs were entering Tibet.
In 1934, 1935, 1936-1938 from Qumil Eliqsan led the Kerey Kazakhs to migrate to Gansu and the amount was estimated at 18,000, and they entered Gansu and Qinghai.
Tibetan troops serving under the Dalai Lama murdered the American CIA agent Douglas Mackiernan and his two White Russian helpers because he was dressed as a Kazakh, their enemy.
By county
(Only includes counties or county-equivalents containing >1% of county population. 2000 )