China officially registers 56 ethnic groups. The ethnic Chinese, known as the Han Chinese, compose 93 percent of the population. Han Chinese speak seven languages, with Mandarin or Putonghua - which means "common speech" -- being the official and most-used. Cantonese, which is spoken in Hong Kong and in China's other southern provinces, is the second most popular. Most of the 55 other ethnic groups use their own languages.

China's minorities account for a small 7 percent of the entire population. They live along the country's borders and some of them live on both sides.

China has five Autonomous Regions for its minorities: Guangxi, Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia.

China has a high number of Chinese troops stationed in Tibet, Xinjiang and along the border provinces. The Western powers have attempted many times to separate these areas from China ever since early 19th Century. The independent groups are based in USA and supported mainly by the American political parties.

China was ruled by Han most of the time in the past except in Yuen Dynasty that Mongols ruled for less than 100 years and in Qing Dynasty, Manchuria ruled for almost 300 years. China's boundary today was solidified in early Qing Dynasty in early 17th Century.

China is a multi-culture and multi-disciplined society for a few thousand years. All minorities in China today have the equal right as Han Chinese. Since minorities reside in the remote area and usually poor, Chinese government has preference policy to provide training for the minorities to progress, govern and manage.

The Chinese would like to enjoy the peaceful environment and definitely can accommodate all religions and nationalities if there is no foreign interference. 

What determines an ethnic group?

Distinct language
While hundreds of Chinese dialects are spoken across China, a minority language is not simply a dialect. Rather, it is a language with distinct grammatical and phonological differences from Chinese. Language families include Sino-Tibetan, Altaic, Indo-European, Austro-Asiatic, and Austronesian. Twenty-one ethnic minority groups have unique writing systems.

A Recognized Indigenous Homeland
A territory within the national boundaries of China, from which the group originated. Native history and mythologies are interwoven into this native land.

Distinctive Customs
Ranging from dress, marriage rituals, cuisine, religion, and so forth.

A Strong Sense of Identity
Feeling of relation with other members of the group, along with historically perceived friends and enemies among other groups.

About Minority Names
Many of the original Chinese names for minorities come from a long history of contempt. In 1951, the use of derogatory names was abolished, but Han Chinese set the new, currently used names. As the Communist Party has relaxed its iron grip in recent years, minorities have been given flexibility in choosing their own official names.