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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Cha Shan Yao of China

The Cha Shan Yao of China, numbering approximately 64,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a distinct subgroup historically classified within the Yao nationality of China, but ethnically and linguistically they are the Lakkia (or Lakkja) people. 茶山瑶, Lakkja They are an Indigenous people, in the Yao-Mien people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Animism. They primarily speak Lakkia.

Cha Shan Yao in China photo
Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Cha Shan Yao

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Yao-Mien
Primary Language(s): Lakkia (lbc)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Animism
Population: 64,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006708
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Pray for the Cha Shan Yao of China

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Lakkia
Language Family: Tai-Kadai

%
Lakkia Speakers

Media Resources in Lakkia:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Lakkia:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Lakkia bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Cha Shan Yao

The Cha Shan Yao are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Cha Shan Yao

The Cha Shan Yao are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Cha Shan Yao

The Cha Shan Yao are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Cha Shan Yao of China

During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
readExodus 2:23-24

As the lost among them labor, groan, and cry out under false religions and sin, pray God will have mercy on them and hear their cries, that He will be their Rescuer from the kingdom of darkness and bring them into the kingdom of light.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
readPsalm 119:105

Pray that they will receive the Word of God as a lamp to their feet and commit their ways to Him.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
read1 Peter 2:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will embrace their identity as God's chosen people, royal priests, and holy nation, living out their faith with purity and devotion.

To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.
read1 Corinthians 9:22

Ask God to raise up believers from around the world to go and share the hope of Jesus with the lost so that they might trust in Him and have the hope of eternal life.

Lakkia (ROP3 - 114150) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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