Our answer
The mountain people of the Torch Festival 彝族
Nearly 10 million people in Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou, with their own syllabic script
The short answer
The Yi (彝族, Yízú) are one of China’s 56 officially recognised ethnic groups: 9,830,327 people in the 2020 census, living in the mountains of Yunnan, southern Sichuan and northwest Guizhou. They speak Loloish languages related to Burmese, write a syllabic Yi script, and are best known for the Torch Festival and their lacquerware.
| In Chinese | 彝族 (Yízú); self-names include Nuosu, Nisu, Sani, Axi and Lolo |
|---|---|
| Population (2020 census) | 9,830,327, the sixth-largest ethnic minority in China |
| Where they live | Yunnan (over 4.5 million), southern Sichuan (about 2.5 million, mostly in Liangshan) and northwest Guizhou (about 1 million) |
| Language | Yi (Loloish) languages of the Tibeto-Burman group, closely related to Burmese; Nuosu is the largest |
| Known for | The Torch Festival, the Yi syllabary, red-yellow-black lacquerware, embroidery and tuotuo meat |
| Main festivals | Torch Festival (火把节) on the 24th day of the sixth lunar month; Yi New Year (彝族年) around 20 November |
Who the Yi are and where they live
The 2020 census counted 9,830,327 Yi in China, making them the sixth-largest of the country’s ethnic minorities. Like ‘Miao’, the name covers a family of related communities with their own names for themselves, among them the Nuosu, Nisu, Sani, Axi and Lolo. The Nuosu of Sichuan are the largest subgroup.
Most Yi live in the mountains of the southwest. More than 4.5 million live in Yunnan, around 2.5 million in southern Sichuan and about a million in northwest Guizhou. The Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture (凉山彝族自治州), which covers the southern tip of Sichuan with its seat at Xichang, has the largest Yi population of any prefecture in China. In Yunnan, the Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture (楚雄彝族自治州) and Shilin Yi Autonomous County, home of the Stone Forest, are other centres.[1][2][3][11][12]
Language and the Yi script
The Yi speak Loloish languages, part of the Tibeto-Burman group and closely related to Burmese. Nuosu, spoken in Liangshan, is the variety in which the modern script is written.
The traditional Yi script was originally logosyllabic, with characters standing for syllables and words, and dates back to at least the 13th century; the earliest surviving examples are from the late 15th century. With many regional forms, it may once have had around 10,000 characters.
In 1974 the old script was standardised into a syllabary for the Liangshan dialect, which was officially adopted in 1980. It has 756 basic signs, plus 63 for syllables used in words borrowed from Chinese, and has its own block in Unicode (U+A000 to U+A48C), so it can be typed on phones and computers.[3][4]
Yi festivals
The Torch Festival is the big one, and the one most visitors plan around. Dates follow the lunar calendar, so they move each year.[5][6][8]
| Festival | Chinese | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Torch Festival | 火把节 (Huǒbǎ Jié) | 24th day of the sixth lunar month (July or August); usually three days | A great torch is raised in each village and smaller ones lit at every door; people carry torches through fields and lanes and young people sing and dance around the fire all night. Horse racing, bullfighting, archery, wrestling, tug of war and swings, plus markets. |
| Yi New Year | 彝族年 (Yízú Nián); in Yi, Kushi | Around 20 November, on a chosen auspicious day | The Yi new year, celebrated in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi with honouring of ancestors, games and contests, feasting and festival dress. It is first recorded in Chinese texts of the Tang dynasty. |
Both are on China’s national intangible cultural heritage list: the Torch Festival since 2006 and the Yi New Year since 2011, each nominated by Liangshan Prefecture.
Seeing the Torch Festival
The festival is celebrated most grandly in Chuxiong in Yunnan and Liangshan in Sichuan. In the Yi language it is called *Duze*, and it is the biggest festive occasion of the Yi year, with a tradition said to go back about two thousand years.
In Xichang, the Liangshan prefecture seat, the 2025 festival opened with 88 bonfires along 4.8 km of Hangtian Avenue, and about 1,000 Yi people in traditional dress danced with visitors to Yi folk songs. Xichang’s programme has included Yi-style wrestling, in which both hands stay on the opponent’s waist, and a beauty contest in which entrants are also judged on their knowledge of Yi crafts such as lacquer and embroidery.
In Yunnan, many Yi in the Stone Forest area of Shilin Yi Autonomous County, about 90 km east of Kunming, also hold the festival, with folk dancing and wrestling. The Stone Forest is part of the South China Karst World Heritage Site, and the area is linked to the Yi legend of Ashima, a girl who, forbidden to marry the man she loved, was turned to stone.[5][7][8][11][12]
Lacquerware, embroidery and food
- Lacquerware (彝族漆器): bowls, cups and tableware carved from wood and painted with raw lacquer and mineral pigments in three colours, red, yellow and black, the most important colours for the Yi. The craft, centred on Zhaojue county in Liangshan, takes 47 steps and has a history of about 1,700 years; today it is also made into tea sets and phone cases.
- Yi embroidery (彝绣): a national-level heritage craft with more than 1,800 years of history, strongest in Chuxiong Prefecture, Yunnan, where rhododendron flowers are a classic motif. Chuxiong has 77 embroidery workshops and 513 studios, and 35 costumes with Chuxiong Yi embroidery were shown at Paris Fashion Week in 2024.
- Tuotuo meat (坨坨肉, tuótuó ròu): pork or mutton cut into large chunks and cooked, the essential dish at Yi festivals and when guests come.
- Roast suckling pig, cooked over charcoal, is commonly served at Yi festival banquets in Liangshan.
Questions readers ask
Who are the Yi people?
One of China’s 56 officially recognised ethnic groups: 9,830,327 people in the 2020 census. They live mainly in the mountains of Yunnan, southern Sichuan and northwest Guizhou, and include communities such as the Nuosu, Nisu and Sani.
Where do the Yi live?
Over 4.5 million in Yunnan, about 2.5 million in southern Sichuan and about a million in northwest Guizhou. Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan has the largest Yi population of any prefecture; Chuxiong in Yunnan is another centre.
What is the Yi Torch Festival?
The biggest festival of the Yi year, held on the 24th day of the sixth lunar month, in July or August. Villages light great torches and bonfires, people dance around them through the night, and there are horse races, bullfights and wrestling.
When is the Torch Festival?
On the 24th day of the sixth lunar month, so the Western date changes each year but falls in July or August. It usually lasts three days; the biggest celebrations are in Xichang (Liangshan, Sichuan) and Chuxiong (Yunnan).
Do the Yi have their own writing?
Yes. The traditional Yi script dates back at least to the 13th century. In 1974 it was standardised into a syllabary of 756 basic signs for the Liangshan dialect, officially adopted in 1980, and it is now in Unicode.
What language do the Yi speak?
Yi, or Loloish, languages, part of the Tibeto-Burman group and closely related to Burmese. Nuosu, spoken in Liangshan, is the largest and the basis of the modern script.
What is Yi lacquerware?
Wooden bowls, cups and tableware painted with lacquer in red, yellow and black. The craft is centred on Zhaojue county in Liangshan, Sichuan, takes 47 steps and is said to be about 1,700 years old.
Sources
- National Bureau of Statistics of China, Communiqué of the Seventh National Population Census (No. 2) (11 May 2021) · accessed 2 Nov 2026
- Wikipedia, List of ethnic groups in China (2020 census column) · accessed 2 Nov 2026
- Wikipedia, Yi people · accessed 2 Nov 2026
- Wikipedia, Yi script · accessed 2 Nov 2026
- China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn), 火把节（彝族火把节）, national list item Ⅹ-10 · accessed 2 Nov 2026
- China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn), 彝族年, national list item Ⅹ-129 · accessed 2 Nov 2026
- China Daily (chinaservicesinfo), Liangshan Yi Torch Festival celebrates unique Yi culture (21 July 2025) · accessed 2 Nov 2026
- CGTN, Xichang Torch Festival: From fire worshipping to wrestling and beauty contests (28 July 2019) · accessed 2 Nov 2026
- China Daily, Yi lacquerware inheritor in Zhaojue, Liangshan (17 November 2025) · accessed 2 Nov 2026
- People’s Daily Online, Inheritor in SW China’s Yunnan breathes new life into Yi embroidery through fashion, innovation (11 June 2026) · accessed 2 Nov 2026
- Wikipedia, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture · accessed 2 Nov 2026
- Wikipedia, Stone Forest · accessed 2 Nov 2026
- China Daily (chinaservicesinfo), Costumes with Yi embroidery showcased during the 2024 Paris Fashion Week (29 September 2024) · accessed 2 Nov 2026
Update log. 2 November 2026 — reviewed. Next review due 2 February 2027. Suggest a correction