Unrecognized ethnic groups in China

Several ethnic groups of the People's Republic of China are not officially recognized. Taken together, these groups (Chinese: 未识别民族; pinyin: wèi shíbié mínzú) number more than 730,000 people; if considered as a single group, they would constitute the twentieth most populous ethnic group of China. Some scholars have estimated that there are over 200 distinct ethnic groups that inhabit China. There are in addition small distinct ethnic groups that have been classified as part of larger ethnic groups that are officially recognized. Some groups, like the Hui of Xinjiang with the Hui of Fujian, are geographically and culturally separate, except for the shared belief of Islam. Han Chinese, being the world's largest ethnic group, has a large diversity within it, such as in Gansu, whose Han individuals may have genetic traits from the assimilated Tangut civilization. Although they are indigenous to Hainan island and do not speak a Chinese language, the Limgao (Ong-Be) people near the capital (8% of the population) are counted as Han Chinese.

Notable unrecognized ethnic groups include:

English Name	Mandarin Pinyin	Simplified Chinese	Population	Classified in census as .....	Territory	Details
Ongkor	Wēng kuò rén	翁阔人	20	Evenki	Yining County, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang	It is said that Ongkor is the smallest ethnic group in China. The 1993 survey showed that there were only 20 people.
Aynu	Ài nǔ rén	艾努人	10,000	Uyghur	Moyu/Hetian/Luopu/Shache/Shule/Yingjisha Counties, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang	They speak Aynu language (Karluk subfamily). Their dominant religion is Islam (Hanafi).
Keriya	Kè lǐ yǎ rén	克里雅人	1,300	Uyghur	Yutian/Minfeng County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang	The Keriya people are said to be descendants of the Tibet Aliguge dynasty. Another is said to be a desert indigenous people living here. The natural environment determines the life style of the Keriya people in the deep Taklimakan Desert. It still retains the simple and pure folk customs. Culture and a more primitive way of life. Most of them lived together for generations. The elderly at home are the most respected elders. The tribes rarely marry outsiders. They are called "the primitive tribes in the desert."
Tomao	Tuō mào rén	托茂人	500	Hui	Yanqi Hui Autonomous County, Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang and Zhidoi County, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai	Distributed in Qinghai and Xinjiang, with its own unique customs, using Tomo language (a Mongolian mixed Arabic and Persian vocabulary)
Guge	Gǔ gé rén	古格人	5000	Hui (Qinghai) and Tibetan (Yunnan/Tibet)	Hualong Hui Autonomous County, Haidong Prefecture, Qinghai, Deqen/Weixi Counties, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan and Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region	It is distributed in Hualong Hui Autonomous County of Qinghai Province, Shangri-La, Deqin, Weixi County, and Lhasa City of Tibet Autonomous Region in the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province. The Guge people are culturally coordinated and adapted to be compatible with and preserve multi-ethnic culture. Suddenly retain the characteristics of the Hui culture, forming a unique nation.
Kangjia	Kāng jiā rén	康家人	500-600	Hui	Jainca (Jianzha) County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai	The Kangjia people s has its own language, Kangjia language. It belongs to the Mongolian language group of the Altaic language group. The lifestyle is mixed with the Hui and Tu nationalities. Therefore, the Kangjia peoples now consider themselves to be an independent nationalities, which is not the same as the surrounding people.
Manmi	Màn mī rén	曼咪人	1000	Blang	Jinghong County, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan	Manmi people have their own language, Man Met which belongs to the Mon-Khmer (Austroasiatic) language group, and the Manmi people's housing, costumes, religious beliefs, and festivals are similar to the Yi people, but the ethnic group is classified as the Blang ethnic group. Now, Manmi people hope to be counted as an independent nation.
Kunge	Kūn gé rén	昆格人	1656 (338 households)	Blang	Jinghong County, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan	The custom of the Kunge is different from that of the general Blang. The unique special day has the Dragon and the Dragon Festival. The Dragon Column is an iron festival. The time is in the solar calendar in February. During the festival, you must kill the cows, burn the bonfire, and worship the ancestors.
Bajia	Bā jiǎ rén	八甲人	1500	Blang and Yi	Yu'a/Yucha Township, Menghai County, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan	Distributed in Menghai County, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. Those who mixed with Blang are being classified as Blang peoples while those who unmixed are being classified as Yi peoples (this happened on 2011 after approval by Chinese National Civil Affairs Commission and the Yunnan Provincial Government).
Akha	Ā kǎ rén	阿卡人	6000	Hani	Jinghong/Jinghan/Qilong town (Jinghong County), Bulangshan town (Menghai County) and Qilun town (Mengla County), Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan	The Akha claimed to be "over gram", and Akha was the name of the Yi people (meaning "slaves").
Laopin	Lǎo pǐn rén	老品人	233 (in 52 households)	May be classified as Dai	Menghai County, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan	The Lao Ping ethnics call themselves "old products", also known as "card products." Old people retain their own language, such as eating for "Tangza", housing for "crowding", and fluent slang. The old-fashioned housing is a Chinese-style bungalow. A unique original religion, with temples and godless statues, is held every year in the whole village.
Laomian	Lǎo miǎn rén	老緬人	233 (in 52 households)	Lahu	Menghai County, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan	The Laomian has nothing to do with the Burmese. The Laomian people is a cross-border ethnic group distributed in the border areas of China, Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos. In China, Laojia Dazhai in Zhutang Township of Mula County and Miaohai Village in Menghai County of Mianhai County are the main settlements.
Bisu	Bì sū rén	毕苏人	6000	Some are classified as Lahu while those who live in Menghai County are counted as "undistinguished nationalities"	Menghai County, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan
Muxi	Mù lǎo rén	木佬人	30000	Yi	Majiang/Kaili/Huangping (Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture), Duyun/Fuquan (Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture), Guizhou and Chun'an County, Zhejiang	Their language Muyu language belongs to the Kra language group, close to the proverb, but because he is close to Gelao they are being classified into the Yi.
Caizu	Cài zú rén	菜族人	170 (in 32 households)	Han	Unknown
Chuanqing	Chuān qīng rén	穿青人	670000	Han	Liupanshui/Zhijin County, Bijie Prefecture, Guizhou	The Chuanqings, however, view themselves as a distinct people group. Most of them live in Anshun area of Guizhou province. Other locals call the Chuanqings "Da Jiao Ban" (Big Foot) or "Da Xiuzi" (Big Sleeves). Uniquely, they worship a god called Wuxian (五显).
Caijia	Cài jiā rén	蔡家人	40000	Han or Bai	Guizhou	Caijia people's language is said to be relative of Bai language.
Longjia	Lóng jiā rén	龍家人	>500000	Han, Bai, and Bouyei	Anshun Prefecture, Guizhou	They are not same with Bai of Yunnan.
Mojia	Mò jiā rén	莫家人	20000	Bouyei	Libo County, Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou	They speak Mak language (Kam-Sui)
Lemo	Lēi mò rén	勒墨人	7000	Bai and Lisu	Lushui County, Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan	They are results of intermarriage between Tai Mao (Dehong Dai/Shan) and Lisu peoples.
Deng	Chēng rén	僜人	2000	May be classified as Tibetan	Zayu County, Linzhi (Nyingchi), Tibet Autonomous Region	They speak various Mishmi languages (including Kaman/Miju and Idu Mishmi language).
Ya	Yá rén	崖人	5000000	Zhuang	Baise, Guangxi
Limin	Lǐ mín rén	里民人	100000	Li	Anshun/Qianxinan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou	They are not descendants of Li people of Hainan. In fact, they are part of Chuanqing people.
Bunu	Bù nǔ rén	布努人	400,000	Yao	Guangxi
Mang	Mǎng rén	莽人	568	Blang	Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan
Pakan	Bù gēng rén	布赓人	2,000	Yi	Wennan, Xiqiao. Wenshan, Yunnan
Tuvans	Tú wǎ rén	图瓦人	3,900	Mongolians	Far north of Xinjiang[1]	Only around 2,000 Tuvan speakers left.

See also

• Ethnic minorities in China
• List of unrecognized ethnic groups of Guizhou

References

1. Pirkko Suihkonen; Lindsay J. Whaley (15 December 2014). On Diversity and Complexity of Languages Spoken in Europe and North and Central Asia. John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 340. ISBN 978-90-272-6936-2.

External links

• 至今没有归属中国尚待被识别的23个少数民族 (in Chinese)