The population is about 187 thousand. The majority live in Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. A few reside in other places of Xinjiang and the Fuyu County of Heilongjiang Province. The Kyrgyz people use the Kyrgyz language, which is one of the Turkic languages of Altaic language family with two dialects, the north and the south. Those who live in southern Xinjiang understand the Uyghur language, while those in the north can speak the Kazakh language. Inhabitants of Heilongjiang Province know Chinese and Mongolian. The Kyrgyz people have their own script based on Arabic alphabets. “Kyrgyz” is a Turkic name by which the people call themselves, and can be interpreted as “forty girls”, “forty tribes” or “people of the prairie”. The Kyrgyz people make their living mainly by animal husbandry and they are also engaged in hunting, farming, handicraft and commerce. Most of them believe in Islam, while a few believe in Tibetan Buddhism or Shamanism. Major festivals include “Eid al-Fitr”, “Eid al-Adha”, “Nowruz”, etc. During the festivals, people all dress in new clothes and treat each other with tea and oil nuts.