People

Hainan is a multi-ethnic province, with 37 different ethnic groups living on the island. Of these, the Han people are the most populous, followed by the Li, Miao, and Hui minorities. The Li and Miao have the longest history in Hainan.

About two million people from Hainan or of Hainanese ancestry live in over fifty countries around the world. The island is also home to one million returned overseas Chinese, who mainly live on the eastern coast. Chinese Mandarin, also known as Putonghua, is the main language of the island. Local languages, however, are also quite prevalent, and include Hainanese, Li, Lingao, and Jun dialects.

People_img1

The Li

The History of Li people started 3000 years ago and they kept their Culture. The Li ethnic group of China mostly inhabits the nine cities and counties in the middle and southern part of Hainan: the cities of Sanya, Tongza and Dongfang, the Li autonomous counties of Baisha, Lingshui, Ledong, Changjiang, and the "Li and Miao Autonomous Counties of Qiongzhong and Baoting". Other scatter over 12 towns and townships with other ethnic groups in the cities and counties of Danzhou, Wanning, Qionghai and Tunchang. The area inhabited by the Li ethnic group totals 18,700 km2, about 55% of the province's total.

Li-Style for Hair and the Ears

Luohuo females have tatoos and put more and more earrings on their heads. As many as three dozens in number and one or two kilograms in weight. The style to wear is different. Every Li-group have different dresses. As in every other culture the wedding is for the Li the event of the live. The bride wears a special hat which covers her face.

The Miao

The Miao nationality has a population of about 60,000 most of them live deeply into the mountains especially in Quiongzhong and Baoting Country with their customs of life partly affected by the influence of missionaries.

The Hui

There are about 10,000 Hui people living in Hainan. They have been on the island for more than 700 years and most of them live in the town of Yanglan near Sanya City. They are the only Muslim inhabitants of the island.

People_rightimg1
The "Patriarchs"
The Li people cook rice in a hollow bamboo, which gives the rice a fragrant flavor. Their home-made wine is also very special. Hospitality and honesty are their tradition. Li society is patrilineal, which means that the line of decent is traced through the males. Each village contains several families related by blood that live together. Girls live apart from their families in a room called the "Liao" from the time they reach puberty until they marry.
People_rightimg2
Marvellous Handycrafts and Colorful Custom Art
Li people are wellknown and famous for their handycrafts. Weaving has it roots in the Li tradition. Li women are excellent weavers. They enjoy their art of dying cloth to make complicated patterns, a technique that has contributed greatly to the development of textiles in China. Every Li tribe have his tradition which he shows in its handycrafts and weavings.
People_rightimg3
The World of a Li-Woman
The world of the Li-Woman is dominated from the hard work on the rice field, in the woods or in taking care of the children. But she also takes care for the tradition. The older "Luohuo" women are proud of her tatoos, which have a long tradition.