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Uygur ethnic minority, with a total population of 7,939,  mainly live in Taoyuan,Hanshou,and Wuling,around Changde City, in northern Hunan Province. They live in compact communities, mainly in Uygur townships.  The Uygur people usually engage in agriculture, but a small number are also good at business and handicrafts. Due to their long-term coexistence with the Han, the Uygur have taken Chinese as a common language, but still retain their own customs, religious activities, and daily life.

Festivals of Uygur
The Corban Festival, the Noroz Festival, the Kaizhai Festival, and the Nuolu Festival are the most important festivals of the Uygur people.

Customs of Uygur

The Uygurs are believers in the Islamic faith. Over the centuries, many mosques, mazas (Uygur complexes, nobles' tombs), theological seminaries, and religious courts have been set up in Uygur areas.

Folk Culture and Art
Uygur ethnic minority has its own language and alphabet, which belongs to the Turki Austronesian of Altai Phylum. They have two written languages, one based upon Arabian letters, the other based upon Latin letters.

Uygur culture and art have flourished, and have a long and rich tradition. Uygur literature is very rich in style and subject matter, their oral literature mainly reflecting the Uygur's historical origins, heroic characters, social changes, and customs, in works such as "The Tales of Afandi".

Uygurs are excellent dancers. The "12 Mukams" (opera) is an epic comprising more than 340 classic songs and folk dances, and the "Daolang Mukams" is another, distinctively Uygur, suite.

Uygur musical instruments include the Dutar, Rawap and Dap. The first two are instruments with a clear and crisp tone, and are used for solo and orchestral performances. Dap is a sheepskin tambourine, with many small iron rings attached to the rim, and is used to accompany dancing.