ＣＨＩＮＡ’ＳＥＴＨＮＩＣ　ＭＩＮＯＲＩＴＩＥＳ　ＡＲＥ　ＡＤＶＡＮＣＩＮＧ（Ｉ）.docVIP

ＣＨＩＮＡ’ＳＥＴＨＮＩＣ　ＭＩＮＯＲＩＴＩＥＳ　ＡＲＥ　ＡＤＶＡＮＣＩＮＧ（Ｉ） 　　China boasts a civilization with a history of over 5,000 years. It is a united, multi-ethnic nation. Since ancient times many ethnic minorities which speak different languages and believe in different religions and have various ways of life and customs and habits have lived in the territory of China, together with the Han people, forming a unitary, multi-ethnic state . 　　China has 56 ethnic groups, among whom the Han ethnic group makes up 91 percent of the country’s total population. The other 55 groups, totaling 106.43 million, account for 8.41 of the total. So they are called ethnic minorities in China. In fact, compared with other ethnic minorities in the world, they are not so small. For instance, the population of the Zhuang ethnic group is 15,489,630; Hui 8,602,978; Uygur 7,214,431; Yi 6,572,173; Miao 7,398,035; Tibetan 4,593,330; Mongolian 4,806,849; The ethnic minorities with populations of between one and two million include the Bouyei, Korean, Man (Manchu), Dong, Yao, Bai, Tujia and Hani. The populations of the other 40 ethnic minorities vary from several 100,000 to that of the Hezhe, with only some 1,400 people. 　　The areas that China’s ethnic minorities reside in account for about 60 percent of China’s total. In the course of a long period of economic and cultural contacts, many ethnic minorities formed their own small residential areas or came to live together with other ethnic minorities. For instance the Man (Manchu) and Hui groups have their own residential areas but also reside with other ethnic minorities. 　　All ethnic minorities in China have a long history. As early as in the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC) , China had already become a united multi-ethnic state. All ethnic minorities made concerted efforts to create the brilliant ancient culture of the Chinese nation. 　　Since the founding of the PeopleOtilde;s Republic of China in 1949, the living conditions of China’s ethnic minorities have improved mark