The Sibe[a][b] are a Tungusic-speaking East Asian ethnic group living mostly in Xinjiang, Jilin and Shenyang in Liaoning.

They lived in small town-like settlements, a portion of them nomadic, in the Songyuan and Qiqihar areas of what is now Jilin.

[4] When the Buyeo kingdom was conquered by the Xianbei in 286 AD, the southern Shiwei started practicing agriculture.

[4] Nurhaci, the first prominent figure of the Manchu people, routed the Sibe during the battle of Gure in 1593 on his way to founding the Qing dynasty of China.

From that point, the Qing contracted the Sibe for logistical support against the Russian Empire's expansionism on China's northern border.

In the meantime both Solons and Sibos were being attacked and plundered and were obliged to make peace with the insurgents, so that only Ili, Khorgos, Losigun and Suidun, remained in the hands of the Mantchus.

After the Chinese Communist Revolution in 1949 established the People's Republic of China (PRC), large-scale educational and hygiene campaigns increased Sibe literacy and resulted in the eradication of Qapqal disease (a form of type A botulism).

The Sibe soldiers had to earn their living by squatting on land to become self-sufficient, while the Manchu garrisons were supplied by the Qing state.

Customary Sibe attire included short buttoned jackets and trousers for men and close-fitting, long and lace-trimmed gowns for women.

Arranged marriage was common and women had low social status, including no right to inherit property.

[16][17] As of 2018, 19,984 Sibe people live in the autonomous county, comprising 10.28% of its total population, which is dominated by larger groups, such as the Han Chinese, Uyghurs, and Kazakhs.