Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ethnic Make-up
Han Chinese (Han zu) - the largest clan in China and the nation's 56th recog-
nised ethnic group - make up the lion's share of China's people, 92% of the
total figure. When we think of China - from its writing system to its visual arts,
calligraphy, history, literature, language and politics - we tend to associate it
with Han culture.
The Han Chinese live throughout China but are generally concentrated
along the Yellow River, Yangzi River and Pearl River basins. A glance,
however, at a map of China reveals that these core heartland regions of Han
China are fragments of contemporary China's vast expanse. The colossal re-
gions of Tibet, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and the three provinces of the
northeast (Manchuria) are all historically non-Han regions, areas of which re-
main essentially non-Han today.
Many of these regions are peopled by some of the remaining 8% of the pop-
ulation: China's 55 other ethnic minorities, known collectively as
shaoshu min-
zu
( minority nationals). The largest minority groups in China include the
Zhuang , Manchu , Miao , Uighur , Yi , Tujia , Tibetan , Hui , Mongolian , Buyi ,
Dong , Yao , Korean , Bai , Hani , Li , Kazak and Dai . Population sizes differ
dramatically, from the abundant Zhuang in Guangxi to meagre numbers of
Menba in Tibet. Ethnic labelling can be reasonably fluid: the Hakka were once
regarded as a separate minority, but are today considered Han Chinese.
China's minorities tend to cluster along border regions, in the northwest, the
west, the southwest, the north and northeast of China, but are also distributed
unevenly throughout the land. Some minority peoples are found in one area
alone (such as the Hani in Yunnan); others, such as the Muslim Hui, are
scattered across China.
Wedged into the southwest corner of China between Tibet, Myanmar
(Burma), Vietnam and Laos, fecund Yunnan province alone is home to over 20
ethnic groups, making it one of the most ethnically diverse and culturally rich
provinces in the country.
