The Miao are widely distributed in compact living communities in Guizhou Province. There are also the Miao living in Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Guangxi, Yunnan and Hainan provinces. Their total population is 9 million.

The Miao subdivide themselves into a number of different groups such as Long Skirt Miao, Short Skirt Miao, Red Miao and Black Miao. They are descendants of the clans and tribes indigenous to the Yellow River basin and the south and middle reaches of the Yangtze River. There was once a Miao kingdom called Jiuli, but it’s ruler was defeated by Huang Di in the 26th Century BC.

The Miao language belongs to the Hmong-Mien (or Miao-Yao) language family.

Some Miao continue to practice their traditional Shamanistic religion. Others are Buddhist or Christian.

The Miao cultivate paddy rice and maize as staples, as well as such diverse cash crops as tung oil trees, rapeseed, anise, and such rare medicinal herbs as pseudo-ginseng, the tuber of elevated gastrodia and the bark of eucommia.

Technorati Tags: Chinese Guangxi Guizhou Hainan Hmong-Mien Hubei Hunan Miao-Yao Minorities Sichuan The Miao Yangtze River Yunnan