Chinese Tajiks People

Tajiks in China are one of the officially recognized by the People's Republic of China.

This group, with a population of 41,028 , is located mainly in China's western Xinjiang region with 60% living in Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County; some researchers view them as a collection of over a dozen small East Iranian ethnic groups that are related to, but distinct from, the Tajiks of Tajikistan. The Ethnologue claims that they are actually Shugni and Wakhi. Aurel Stein and other writers from his time referred to them simply as ''Sarikoli''. Some have referred to them simply as "Mountain Tajiks." Robert Shaw considered them Sarikolis and Wakhis, referring to them collectively as Ghalchah.

In China, the languages of the Tajiks have no official written form. The great majority of Chinese Tajik speakers speak the Sarikoli language and use , or to communicate with people of other nationalities in the area. A small proportion of Chinese Tajik speakers speak .

See also

*Iranian peoples
*Iranian languages