The Uighurs of China

An ethnic Uighur man rides a horse in snow in Yili, Xinjiang, Uighur Autonomous Region, Dec. 13, 2012.

Xinjiang, a sprawling region that borders Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, is home to millions of Uighurs, the region's indigenous Turkic Muslim Uighur ethnic group, which is linguistically and culturally distinct from China's Han ethnic majority.

Many Uighurs resent Beijing's heavy-handed rule in the Xinjiang autonomous region, their traditional homeland.

Xinjiang province

An ethnic Uighur woman pushes a bicycle with her son on it along a dirt road in Turpan, Xinjiang province, Oct. 31, 2013.

Xinjiang province

Ethnic Uighur customers select goats at a fair on a street in Aksu, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, July 21, 2013.

Xinjiang province

An ethnic Uighur man plays with his grandson in the old district of Kashgar city, in Xinjiang province, Aug. 4, 2011.

Xinjiang province

Armed paramilitary policemen run in formation during a gathering to mobilize security operations in Urumqi, Xinjiang, June 29, 2013.

More than a hundred people, riding motorbikes and wielding knives, attacked a police station in China's ethnically divided western region of Xinjiang, state media said.

In July 2009 ethnic riots between Uighurs and China's Han majority left 200 people dead. Nine Uighurs were executed for taking part in the unrest, which China blamed on overseas-based groups agitating for broader rights for Uighurs in Xinjiang. The government also blocked Internet access and international phone calls in the region.

Xinjiang province

An ethnic Uighur child pulls a donkey near Mount Tianshan in Aksu, Xinjiang, July 28, 2012.

Xinjiang province

Participants ride horses as they fight for a slaughtered goat during a Buzkashi event in Yuli county, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, Oct. 19, 2013.

Buzkashi is a traditional central Asian sport played between two teams of horsemen competing to throw a beheaded goat into a scoring circle.

Xinjiang province

A facial mask made from pitch and egg white, which is believed to minimize pores, is removed from the face of an ethnic Uighur man during a treatment session at a beauty salon in Aksu, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, Aug. 5, 2012.

Xinjiang province

Participants run while carrying sheep during a "Running with Sheep" race in Yiwu county, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, Aug. 22, 2013.

The event is part of a harvest celebration activity which also includes a sheep beauty contest and a sheep slaughter.

Xinjiang province

A man leads a sheep on his way home ahead of Eid al-Adha celebrations in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, Oct. 13, 2013.

Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha to mark the end of the haj pilgrimage by slaughtering sheep, goats, camels and cows to commemorate Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismail, on God's command.

Xinjiang province

An ethnic Uighur farmer drives a motorcycle pulling a cart near Lukqun town, in Xinjiang province, Oct. 30, 2013.

Xinjiang province

Muslims pray at a mosque in Aksu, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, Aug. 3, 2012.

Xinjiang province

An ethnic Uighur woman is put on an IV drip as her child lies on the bed next to her at a hospital in Shaya county of Aksu, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, June 3, 2012.

Xinjiang province

Ethnic Uighur men take a break as they work on a farming area near Lukqun town, in Xinjiang province, Oct. 30, 2013.

Xinjiang province

An ethnic Uighur woman hugs her son as she stands outside her house with her daughter and neighbours at an old residential area of Kashgar, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, July 22, 2012.

Xinjiang province

An elderly Uighur man and his grandson look at pirated VCDs and DVDs at a market on the outskirts of Aksu, Xinjiang, April 19, 2012.

Xinjiang province

An ethnic Uighur man sits outside his house near a busy market in Turpan, Xinjiang province, Oct. 31, 2013.

Xinjiang province

Muslims wait to buy mutton at a butcher's shop ahead of Eid al-Adha celebrations in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, Oct. 13, 2013.

Xinjiang province

A Uighur man prays during Friday prayers inside the Altyn Mosque in Yarkand, in the region of Xinjiang, April 4, 2008.