Uyghurs
Contemporary scholars consider modern Uyghurs to be the descendants of a number of people, including the ancient Uyghurs of Mongolia who arrived at the Tarim Basin after the fall of the Uyghur Khaganate, Iranic Saka tribes, and other Indo-European peoples who inhabited the Tarim Basin before the arrival of the Turkic Uyghurs. DNA analyses indicate that the peoples of central Asia such as the Uyghurs are all mixed Caucasian and East Asian. Uyghur activists identify with the Tarim mummies, remains of an ancient people who inhabited the region, but research into the genetics of ancient Tarim mummies and their links with modern Uyghurs remains problematic, both to Chinese government officials concerned with ethnic separatism, and to Uyghur activists concerned that the research could affect their people's claim of being indigenous to the region.
Uyghurs in Beijing
After Genghis Khan captured Beijing from the Jin dynasty in 1215, Uyghur noble families serving the Mongol court were sent to administer the city, then renamed Yanjing. These Uyghur nobles were from the Qocho Kingdom, which was formed in the Tarim Basin in 855 and submitted to the Mongols in 1209. Among the Uyghurs who came to Yanjing was Buluhaya, who was a lieutenant of Genghis Khan and given the rank of financial manager. He built a large estate outside the city along the Gaoliang River and moved his mother there. The settlement became known as the "Weiwuercun" or the "Uyghur Village." After Buluhaya's death, he was posthumously honored by Külüg Khan as the Duke of Wei. It is believed that "Weigongcun" or the Village of the Duke of Wei, was so-named because of Buluhaya (布鲁海牙).