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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Han Chinese (Waxianghua) of China

The Han Chinese (Waxianghua) of China, numbering approximately 386,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as an unrecognized ethnic minority group in the northwestern part of China's Hunan province They are an Indigenous people, with Chinese as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Chinese people cluster of the East Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Chinese Folk Religion. They primarily speak Waxianghua.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Han Chinese, Waxianghua

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: East Asian Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Chinese
Primary Language(s): Waxianghua (wxa)
Primary Religion(s): Chinese Folk Religion
Population: 386,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG007076
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Pray for the Han Chinese (Waxianghua) of China

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Chinese Folk Religion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

75%
%
Chinese Folk Religion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Waxianghua
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

70%
%
Waxianghua Speakers

Media Resources in Waxianghua:

Films:

No entries found for: Waxianghua(wxa). Help build some!

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Waxianghua:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Waxianghua bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Marginally Reached People Group, (LPI: 4), 3% to 6% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical (GSEC: 4), this people group is greater than or equal to 2% evangelical

Next steps for the Han Chinese (Waxianghua):
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Han Chinese (Waxianghua) 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.

Next steps for the Han Chinese (Waxianghua):
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Han Chinese (Waxianghua) 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.

Next steps for the Han Chinese (Waxianghua):
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Han Chinese (Waxianghua) of China

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
readMark 10:15

Pray for those who might be trapped in pride, that God will humble them and give them a childlike faith and complete dependence on Him through faith in Christ.

The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
readPsalm 146:9

Pray for God to watch over people, wherever they are, and cause them to meet believers who will share the gospel with them clearly and lovingly.

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
readPsalm 121:1-2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and experience hardship, God will remind them that their help comes from the One who made heaven and earth and that He is powerful to meet their needs.

There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.
readMark 7:15

Pray for Christians to take any opportunity to share the hope of Jesus with lost people here, praying they will be wise like Jesus as they share the truth about what can defile people and what can make them clean.

Han Chinese, Waxiang Across Countries (ROP3 - 114091) 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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