--- title: "The Yao people of China: mountain villages, long hair and the Panwang Festival" url: https://popularinchina.com/culture/ethnic-groups-in-china/yao section: "Culture" type: answer updated: 2026-11-02 next_review: 2027-02-02 status: checked author: "The Popular in China desk" fact_checker: "Alex Liu" publisher: Popular in China (https://popularinchina.com) license: Quote with attribution and a link to https://popularinchina.com/culture/ethnic-groups-in-china/yao --- # The Yao people of China: mountain villages, long hair and the Panwang Festival _The Yao are a mountain people of southern China, half of whom live in Guangxi, with large communities in Hunan and Guangdong and relatives across South-East Asia. They are made up of many subgroups speaking different languages, and are best known to visitors for the long-haired Red Yao women of the Longji terraces and for the Panwang Festival in honour of their ancestor. Here is who they are and where to meet them._ **Verdict: A mountain people of the south** (瑶族) — Many subgroups and languages, spread over Guangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Yunnan and beyond China’s borders ## Short answer The Yao (瑶族, Yáozú) are an ethnic minority of southern China, 3.31 million people in the 2020 census. Half live in Guangxi, with most of the rest in Hunan, Guangdong and Yunnan. They are known for the Panwang Festival honouring their ancestor Pan, indigo and red dress, and the long-haired Red Yao women of Huangluo. ## At a glance - **In Chinese:** 瑶族 (Yáozú), the Yao people; called Dao in Vietnam - **Population (2020 census):** 3,309,341, the 13th-largest of China’s 56 ethnic groups - **Where they live:** Guangxi (50.9%), Hunan (22.7%), Guangdong (15.6%), Yunnan (6.6%) and Guizhou - **Language:** Mainly Hmong-Mien languages such as Mien; some Yao speak a Tai-Kadai language or Chinese dialects - **Known for:** The Red Yao long-hair tradition, colourful dress, mountain villages and terraces - **Main festival:** Panwang Festival (盘王节), 16th day of the 10th lunar month, usually in November ## Where the Yao live The 2020 census counted 3,309,341 Yao, up from 2,796,003 in 2010. Most live in the hills of five southern provinces. [2][3] | Province or region | Yao population, 2020 | Share of all Yao | | --- | --- | --- | | Guangxi | 1,683,038 | 50.86% | | Hunan | 749,872 | 22.66% | | Guangdong | 514,447 | 15.55% | | Yunnan | 218,825 | 6.61% | | Guizhou | 46,759 | 1.41% | Outside China, about 891,000 Yao were counted in Vietnam’s 2019 census, where they are called Dao. There are Yao communities in Laos, Myanmar and northern Thailand, and an estimated 60,000 Iu Mien in the United States, mostly on the West Coast. ## Subgroups and languages ‘Yao’ covers many subgroups with their own names, dress and speech. Among them are the **Iu Mien**, the **Red Yao**, the **Pan Yao**, the **Kim Mun** (or Blue-Indigo Yao), the **Bunu** and the **Pingdi**, or Plains, Yao. Most Yao languages belong to the **Hmong-Mien** family, which also includes the languages of the [Miao](/culture/ethnic-groups-in-china/miao). Mien is the best known; Bunu belongs to the Hmongic side of the family. The Tea Mountain Yao speak **Lakkja**, a Tai-Kadai language, and about 500,000 Yao speak Chinese dialects as their mother tongue. Old Chinese records describe Yao dress. Writers of the Later Han said they liked ‘five-coloured clothes’, and the Southern Song writer Zhou Qufei noted their fine blue cloth dyed with indigo. Sources: [3] ## The Panwang Festival The **Panwang Festival** (盘王节, Pánwáng Jié, ‘King Pan Festival’) falls on the 16th day of the 10th lunar month, usually in November. It honours **Pan**, the legendary ancestor of the Yao, and has grown into a harvest celebration and a time to honour ancestors, centred on music and dance. In 2006 it was named in the first group of China’s national intangible cultural heritage items. Legends of Pan vary. In the Yao epic *Guoshanbang*, Pan is a brave hero who helps a king defeat an enemy and is given the king’s third daughter in marriage; their six sons and six daughters, raised in the mountains, became the forebears of the Yao. When Pan died in a hunting accident, his children made a drum from the tree where he fell and danced to it, which the story gives as the origin of the festival. An older version tells of **Pan Hu**, a loyal dog who saved the emperor Gao Xin, turned into a man and married the emperor’s daughter. Big celebrations are held in Guangxi, including Guilin, and in Hunan, for example at Panwang Square in Qianjiadong Yao township, Jiangyong county, on 16 November in 2024. Sources: [3][7][8] ## The Red Yao and the long-hair village of Huangluo The **Red Yao** (红瑶), about 15,000 people, live mostly in Longsheng county and Lingui district of Guilin in Guangxi. They take their name from the red that dominates women’s tops; the most prized garment, the ‘flower dress’, takes about a year to make. Red Yao women are famous for their hair. Traditionally it is cut only at the ages of three and eighteen, and adult women’s hair averages about 1.7 m. It is said to be washed in fermented rice water boiled with grapefruit peel and tea-oil dregs. Long hair stands for long life, wealth and good fortune. **Huangluo Yao village** (黄洛瑶寨) in Longji township, Longsheng, is billed as China’s top long-hair village. On 22 April 2023, at the annual Longji Long Hair Festival, 256 Red Yao women set a Guinness World Record for the longest hair-combing chain, 456 m long, each combing the hair of the woman in front with a wooden comb. Visitors can watch the hair-combing and join in folk songs and dances. Sources: [4][5][6] ## Where to see Yao culture | Place | Province | Why go | | --- | --- | --- | | Huangluo Yao village, Longsheng | Guangxi (Guilin) | Red Yao hair-combing shows, songs and dances; the Long Hair Festival in spring. | | Longji Rice Terraces (龙脊梯田) | Guangxi (Longsheng county, about 100 km from Guilin) | Terraces built mostly about 650 years ago, climbing from the river to 600–800 m; Red Yao villages are in Longji township. | | Qianjiadong Yao township, Jiangyong county | Hunan | A Panwang Festival venue, with celebrations on Panwang Square. | | Dahua Yao Autonomous County | Guangxi (Hechi) | Yao girls perform the frog dance at festival time; in 2018 it was part of the Sanyuesan celebrations. | ## Questions **Who are the Yao people?** The Yao are an ethnic minority of southern China, 3,309,341 people in the 2020 census. Half live in Guangxi, and most of the rest in Hunan, Guangdong and Yunnan. Yao communities also live in Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and the United States. **Where do the Yao live in China?** Mainly in the hills of Guangxi (50.86% of all Yao), Hunan (22.66%), Guangdong (15.55%), Yunnan (6.61%) and Guizhou (1.41%), according to the 2020 census. **What language do the Yao speak?** Several. Most Yao speak Hmong-Mien languages such as Mien, related to the languages of the Miao. Some speak Lakkja, a Tai-Kadai language, and about 500,000 speak Chinese dialects. **Are the Yao the same as the Mien?** The Iu Mien are one subgroup of the Yao, and Mien is one of their languages. An estimated 60,000 Iu Mien live in the United States; in Vietnam the Yao are called Dao. **What is the Panwang Festival?** The main Yao festival, on the 16th day of the 10th lunar month (usually November). It honours the legendary ancestor Pan with music, drumming and dance, and has been on China’s national intangible cultural heritage list since 2006. **Why do Red Yao women have such long hair?** By tradition Red Yao women cut their hair only at the ages of three and eighteen, and long hair stands for long life and good fortune. Adult women’s hair averages about 1.7 m. **Where is the long-hair village?** Huangluo Yao village in Longji township, Longsheng county, about 100 km from Guilin in Guangxi. In 2023, 256 women there set a Guinness World Record for the longest hair-combing chain. **Who are the Red Yao?** A Yao subgroup of about 15,000 people, living mostly in Longsheng and Lingui in Guilin. They are named for the red that dominates women’s clothing. ## Sources 1. [National Bureau of Statistics of China, Communiqué of the Seventh National Population Census (No. 2), 11 May 2021](https://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817187.html) — accessed 2026-11-02 2. [Wikipedia, List of ethnic groups in China (2020 census figures)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_groups_in_China) — accessed 2026-11-02 3. [Wikipedia, Yao people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yao_people_(Asia)) — accessed 2026-11-02 4. [Wikipedia, Red Yao people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Yao_people) — accessed 2026-11-02 5. [Guinness World Records, Long Hair Festival: 250 Chinese women land record with beautiful combing ceremony (25 May 2023)](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/commercial/2023/5/long-hair-festival-250-chinese-women-land-record-with-beautiful-combing-ceremony-749771) — accessed 2026-11-02 6. [Guangxi government via China Daily, Guilin’s nature meets living culture in Longsheng (7 December 2025)](https://www.chinaservicesinfo.com/s/202512/07/WS69450923498e36855033908e/guilins-nature-meets-living-culture-in-longsheng.html) — accessed 2026-11-02 7. [CGTN, Panwang Festival of Yao ethnic group honors legendary hero (16 November 2024)](https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-11-16/Panwang-Festival-of-Yao-ethnic-group-honors-legendary-hero-1yzIUPT4ac0/index.html) — accessed 2026-11-02 8. [Hunan Provincial Government, Yao people celebrate Panwang Festival (18 November 2024)](https://www.enghunan.gov.cn/hneng/News/Localnews/202411/t20241118_33503208.html) — accessed 2026-11-02 9. [China Daily, Traditional ethnic festival travels across Guangxi (19 April 2018)](https://govt.chinadaily.com.cn/s/201804/19/WS5b78925b498e855160e8fd95/traditional-ethnic-festival-travels-across-guangxi.html) — accessed 2026-11-02 10. [Wikipedia, Longji Rice Terraces](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longji_Rice_Terraces) — accessed 2026-11-02 ## Related - https://popularinchina.com/culture/ethnic-groups-in-china - https://popularinchina.com/culture/ethnic-groups-in-china/zhuang - https://popularinchina.com/culture/ethnic-groups-in-china/miao - https://popularinchina.com/culture/ethnic-groups-in-china/dong --- Canonical page: https://popularinchina.com/culture/ethnic-groups-in-china/yao