The population is about 622 thousand. The majority live in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu Province. A few reside in Lanzhou City and Dingxi District of Gansu Province, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The Dongxiang people use the Dongxiang language which is one of the Mongolian languages of the Altaic language family. The language can be divided into three varieties: Suonan, Wangjiaji and Sijiaji. Most of the young generation of Dongxiang understand Chinese as well. The Dongxiang ethnic group does not have its own script. The Dongxiang people are mainly engaged in agriculture and potatoes are the major crops. They also cultivated a kind of famous apricot. The Dongxiang people largely believe in Islam. They basically share the customs and religious belief with the Hui people, but use a language similar to the Mongolians. The major festivals are similar to those of other Islamic ethnic groups, such as “Eid al-Fitr”, “Eid al-Adha” and “Mawlid”. “Mawlid” is usually held in a mosque. Festive activities are prayer-chanting, saint-praising, recounting the stories of Muhammad, etc.