nonHan

Non-Han refers to all ethnic groups in China that are not of the Han Chinese ethnicity. It is not an official ethnonym; rather, it is a descriptive term used in government, scholarship, and media to denote the 55 officially recognized ethnic groups other than Han. The People's Republic of China recognizes 56 ethnic groups; the Han are the majority, accounting for about 90% of the population, with the remaining 10% belonging to non-Han groups. These groups are diverse in language, culture, and religion and are concentrated in various regions, especially in autonomous areas such as the Tibet Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and some prefectures.

Non-Han groups include Zhuang, Hui, Manchu, Mongol, Tibetan, Uyghur, Yi, Miao, Bai, Tujia, Hani, Dong, Koreans, and many others. Institutions include separate languages—either their own languages or strong local dialects—and religious practices such as Tibetan Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and folk beliefs. The constitution and related policies authorize regional ethnic autonomy and promote cultural preservation and education, as well as some language rights.

Critics say the umbrella term can obscure the distinct identities, histories, and needs of individual groups, and some prefer to name the group explicitly (e.g., Uyghur, Zhuang) rather than using the broader non-Han label. The term remains common in descriptive contexts, but is less suitable for describing the diversity of China’s ethnic landscape in detail.