Han Chinese

     Approximately 20,000 Han Chinese live in Laos.  They are concentrated in Phongsali, Oudomxai, Luang Namtha and Luang Prabang provinces, as well as in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos.

     Estimates of the number of Han Chinese in Laos are difficult to obtain.  The 1995 census listed only 8,900 Hor, but this figure is believed to represent only those Chinese communities that have been permanently established for some time, such as the Yunnanese villages along the Lao-China border.  At the time of the census there were 4,244 Chinese citizens in Laos. The Lao authorities acknowledge there to be 11 separate groups of Chinese in Laos, the largest being the Yunnanese, Cantonese, Mandarin-speakers, Min Nan (Hokkien) and Hainanese.  Each of these groups has a distinct spoken language, yet all read and write the same Chinese script.

     The Han Chinese are easily the most populous ethnic group in the world, and Mandarin is spoken by more people than any other language.  The 1990 Chinese census listed more than one billion Han people in China.

     Laurent Chazee lists a figure of 19,000 Han Chinese in Laos, including 9,000 in Phongsali Province alone, where in many places they share their villages with the Phunoi.53 In recent years, "The Yunnanese presence [in Oudomxai Province] has intensified with the influx of Chinese skilled laborers working in construction, as well as tradespeople from Kunming."

     Most Han Chinese have entered Laos since 1900.  Today many are found running shops, businesses and restaurants in the cities and towns.  In the mid to late 1800's the Chinese applied a lot of military pressure on Laos.  The Chinese attack on Xiangkhoang in the late 1800's was one of the reasons the Lao rulers accepted Siamese and later French colonialist protection.

     The Han Chinese in Laos have retained their traditional religious beliefs, which are a mixture of Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism and ancestor worship. Confucianism, although technically not a religion, has left its imprint the thinking of every generation of Chinese in the past 2,500 years.  Although there are a very small number of Christians among the Han Chinese in Laos, most Han have never heard to the Gospel.

Pray for the Han Chinese