There are about 100,000 Salar people in China. Most of them live in Qinghai and Gansu provinces. The Salar people call themselves Salarer. Their ancestors are the Samarkand people who migrated from Central Asia to China during the Yuan Dynasty (1271AD-1368AD).

The Dai call themselves Dai Le, Dai Ya or Dai Na. They have a long history, much of which was recorded in Chinese historical accounts from the first century AD.

The Lisu are believed to have migrated northwest into Yunnan from Tibet thousands of years ago. Their history is passed on from on generation to the next through a song. The song is now so long that it can take almost a week to sing.

There are about 14,000 Uzbeks in China. Most of them live in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Uzbeks are the descendants of the Lite, Huacizi, Feiergan and Saha-Masagaite tribes who migrated from Central Asia to China.

Uyghurs call themselves Uyghurs, a word meaning "unity" in the Uyghur language. Uyghurs are the descendants of the Dingling and Tieles tribes, nomads who mingled and merged in the third century BC. During the 8th and 9th centuries the Uyghurs ruled a vast Central Asian empire.

The 500,000 Dongxiang live mostly in Gansu province; the rest live in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Xinjiang. The Dongxiang are closely related to the Mongolian and Semu peoples.