Ethnicities
China is a multicultural
country. Fifty-six ethnic groups live together harmoniously!
94 percent of the population belongs to the Han nationality. Apart from the Hans, there are more than 50 other nationalities or ethnic groups such as the Mongols (Mongolians), the Huis, the Zangs (Tibetans), the Uygurs (Uighurs, the Miaos, the Yis, the Zhuangs, the Buyis, the Koreans, the Mans (Manchus) and the Gaoshans.All of China's minority nationalities or ethnic groups have languages of their own (some have their own written languages) with the exception only of the Hui, Man and She ethnic groups that use Chinese or the language of the Hans. The Chinese Constitution stipulates the all the nationalities or enthnic groups of China have the freedom to use and further develop their spoken and written languages. In order to rapidly develop the culture and education of the all ethnic groups, the government has helped the Zhuang, Miao, Jingpo and other minority nationalities to devise their own written languages based on the Latin alphabet and to improve their existing writing system.
To have a general knowledge of China's ethnic groups, I strongly recommend that you visit the following website:
Created by Ling Wang
Dec, 2001