Until Kubla Khan conquered the kingdom of Nanchao, and many of its people fled to the south, this was the homeland of the Tai people. Today large numbers of ethnic Tais - known as Dai, Bai and other names - still inhabit many of the mountainous regions and plains, though two-thirds of Yunnan's 41 million population are now Han Chinese.
However, Yunnan is one of the most ethnically diverse provinces in Asia. The Bai and Dai are among the few registered ethnic minority groups to have populations over the one million mark. Yi, Naxi and Hani ethnic groups have also surpassed this mark.
The Miao, Lisu, Hui, Lahu, Wa, Yao, Jingpo and Tibetan minorities all have populations exceeding 100,000, while the Bulang, Buyi, Pumi, A'chang, Nu, Jino, De'ang and Mongolian groups each exceed 10,000. The Shui, Manchu and Dulong have more than 4,000 members each.
Over the past 20 years, the government has recognised the importance of having a multi-ethnic nation, known as duominzu guojia. Writing systems are being developed for all minority languages in China, and elementary school students in some minority areas have been offered a choice of either Chinese or their minority language as the medium of instruction.
