Daur Nationality

Daur is the title that the people of the Daur ethnic minority named themselves, meaning cultivator. With historical records dating back to the early 17th century, there are several stories about the origin of this minority. The most accepted is that they were descendants of the brave Khitan tribe (Qidan) in the Liao Dynasty (916 - 1125). This minority helped guard the frontier during the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) near Xinjiang Province.

Population and Distribution:

According to the census taken in 2000, the population of the Daur ethnic minority was 132,394, which is considerably smaller than other minorities. They mainly inhabit the Inner Mongolia municipality and Heilongjiang Province, while some live in the Xinjiang Uygur municipality. Surrounded by the Daxing'anling, and Nenjiang River Reaches, this place is abundant in natural resources.