hani

The Hani are an ethnic group of China, officially recognized as one of the 56 ethnic groups by the People's Republic of China. They are primarily located in Yunnan Province, with sizeable populations in the Honghe and Xishuangbanna prefectures and smaller communities in neighboring areas. They speak a number of Hani languages, which belong to the Tibeto-Burman language family within the Lolo-Burmish branch; many Hani also use Mandarin in education and administration.

Traditionally agrarian, the Hani have developed extensive terrace farming on hillsides, most famously in the Honghe region. The rice terraces are the product of long-term ecological knowledge and communal labor, enabling wet rice agriculture in mountainous terrain. The Hani are divided into several subgroups, each with distinct dialects, dress, and customs.

Culturally, the Hani maintain religious and folk practices rooted in animist traditions, often blended with elements of Buddhism or Taoism. Festivals and rituals typically relate to agricultural cycles, harvests, and seasonal change, reflecting the close ties between daily life and the land.

In 2013, the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for their outstanding universal value as a living agricultural landscape. The site highlights the Hani's long-standing adaptation to mountainous environments and their continued stewardship of a distinctive cultural and ecological landscape.