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China officially registers 56 ethnic groups. The ethnic Chinese, known as the Han Chinese, compose 93 percent of the population. Han Chinese speak seven languages, with Mandarin or Putonghua - which means "common speech" -- being the official and most-used. Cantonese, which is spoken in Hong Kong and in China's other southern provinces, is the second most popular. Most of the 55 other ethnic groups use their own languages.
China's minorities account for a small 7 percent of the entire population. They live along the country's borders and some of them live on both sides. China has five Autonomous Regions for its minorities: Guangxi, Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia. Chinese has high numbers of Chinese troops stationed in Tibet, Xinjiang and along the border provinces. The Western powers have attempted many times to separate these areas from China ever since early 19th Century. The independent groups are based in USA and supported mainly by the American political parties. |
China was ruled by Han most of the time in the past except in Yuen Dynasty that Mongols ruled for less than 100 years and in Qing Dynasty, Manchuria ruled for almost 300 years. China's boundary today was solidified in early Qing Dynasty in early 17th Century.
China is a multi-culture and multi-disciplined society for a few thousand years. All minorities in China today have the equal right as Han Chinese. Since minorities reside in the remote area and usually poor, Chinese government has preference policy to provide training for the minorities to progress, govern and manage.
Chinese would like to enjoy the peaceful environment and definitely can accommodate all religions and nationalities if there is no foreign interference
Here are some informations about chinese ethnic groups
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��ͯ�� Mongolian
Population: 5 million Location: Inner Mongolia and northern China. Religion : Tibetian Buddhsm, Muslims Mongolian led by Genghis Khan governed China and established Yuan Dynasty from 1846-1890. They have their own languages and three dialects. Inner Mongolia is now an Autonomous Region in China.They are mostly practitioners of Tibetian Buddhism and Muslims. |
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���� Hui
Location: North wester china Populaion: 8,130,000 Language: Kuoyu (MANDARIN) Religion: Muslim The Hui have a long history of intermarriage with other nationalities such as Arabs, Han Chinese, etc. They follow many Muslim rules and taboos, such as not eating any pork. The men wear white or black skullcaps. Women cover themselves with white, black or green veils. |
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���� Tibetan
Population: 4.6 million Location : Tibet Religion : Tibetan Buddhism Tibetans and Han Chinese have been living together for thousand of years. China' sovereignty over Tibet can be traced back to 13th Century. Before becoming an Autonomous Region in China, Tibet was under a feudal serfdom characterized by the dictatorship of upper-class monks and nobles. The feudal lords who constituted only five percent of the population possessed 95 percent of the means of production. Tibet serfs were even more miserable than the black slaves in the United States before the civil war. Tibet was at that time not peaceful at all because the struggles between the slaves and their lords were very fierce. There were no other religions allowed in Tibet. There were evidences that missioners were killed in Tibet in the past. Tibet is now an Autonomous Region in China. Tibetans enjoy the same freedom of religions, education and other rights as other Chinese. |
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��.�� Weiwuer
Population: 0.7 million Location; Xinjiang Religion: Muslims Xinjiang is a Uygur Autonomous Region. It is the largest region in China, covering one sixth of China's total. A great deal of it is desert and mountain. Weiwuer love dancing, singing and playing their own unique musical instruments. They are hospitable people. Visitors will be invited to taste sweet grapes, melons and plums, drink tea, and join the lively dancing. |
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���� Miao
Population: 7.4 million Location: Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan Religion: None Chinese historical records show that the Miao ethnic group used to live along the Yellow river, much earlier than any other ethnic group in China. Because of wars, and changes in the living environment, the Miao gradually established many tribes when they moved further south. These tribes have different lifestyles and different types of costume developed during cultural exchanges with other nationalities, while maintaining their own. There are 23 varieties of costume, falling into five types more prevalent in western Hunan Province, southeastern Guizhou, in the region where Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces meet, and the Hainan Province. Among the five types, the popular styles in western Hunan Province, and eastern and southeastern Guizhou Province are typical and more distinguishable. |
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.�� Yi
Population: 6.6 million Location: Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Gunangxi Yi settles down in the valley surrounded by mountains and streams. Yi has a beautiful language, which is still being used today. There are many history records, literature, medication study all written in Yi language. Yi lives on farming and animal husbandry. Their traditional painting, sculpture and silversmith are beautiful. Fire Festival in June is a big day for Yi. Just like other minority groups, they are good in folk dancing and singing. |
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�� Zhuang
Population: 15 million Location: Mainly in Guangxi, some in Guangdong, Guizhou, Yunnan and Hunan. Zhuang is the largest ethnic minority group in China. They settle in the Guangxi Autonomous Region and live on farming. Their tropical fruit and farming product are very famous. They have own language. Based on Han Chinese, They also created a written language, which is still being used widely today. Every March, they have a big festival to celebrate with folk dancing and singing. |
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������ Chaoxian (Korean)
Population: 2 million Location: Jilin, Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia Korean moved into China 300 years ago. They mainly live on farming. They brought with them their own language and traditions. Just like other Chinese, they respect elders and love their children. They have very good education system and achieve high level of education. They excel in the area of science and art. |
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�� Man (Manchu)
Population: 9.8 million Location: Northern China Manchu has a history more than 2,000 years. They mainly live in Liaoning and East Northern China. Their ancestors mixed with Han Chinese, Mongolian and Koreans in their early settlement. They governed China for more than 300 years during Qing Dynasty. Unfortunately Qing brought great disaster to China. The imperial court failed to stop the Western power invading China with their newest arms and opium. It took Chinese 80 years to clean up the mess and only until December 20, 1999, the last colony, Macao, reverted back to China from 500 years occupation by Portuguese. The only Chinese land still under foreign occupation is Diaoyutai Island, which was given to Japan by American at the end of the World War II. |
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