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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bendi Li of China

The Bendi Li of China, numbering approximately 97,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous Hlai-speaking subgroup of the Li people of Hainan Island, China, who maintain a distinct cultural identity shaped by the island's central highlands, traditional agriculture, and folk-religious traditions. They mostly adhere to Chinese Folk Religion and Hlai is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Bendi Li

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Li
Primary Language(s): Hlai (lic)
Primary Religion(s): Chinese Folk Religion
Population: 97,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007258
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Pray for the Bendi Li 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Chinese Folk Religion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

25%
%
Chinese Folk Religion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Hlai
Language Family: Tai-Kadai

100%
%
Hlai Speakers

Media Resources in Hlai:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Hlai:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Hlai bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bendi Li 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 Bendi Li:
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

Pray specifically for the Bendi Li of China

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.
readMatthew 4:16

Pray that those living in darkness and the shadow of death will see a great light and turn to the Lord for salvation.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
readJohn 8:12

Pray that many will come to know Jesus, the light of the world, and have the light of life instead of walking in darkness.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
readHebrew 4:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will boldly draw near to God as they approach Him in prayer, receive His mercy, and find grace for help in their time of need.

And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."
readMatthew 16:17

Pray that God who is in heaven will place believers in the lives of people who need to encounter the gospel and that He will reveal to them the truth of what they hear.

Li, Bendi Across Countries (ROP3 - 114166) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Bendi LiPG007258Bendi LiChina97,000Engaged yet UnreachedHlaiChinese Folk Religion

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 Data Standards section.

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