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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Palyu of China

The Palyu of China, numbering approximately 15,500 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are described as a people of China They are an Indigenous people, with Palyu as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Mon-Khmer people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Animism. They primarily speak Chinese, Mandarin.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Palyu

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Mon-Khmer
Primary Language(s): Chinese, Mandarin (cmn)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 15,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007347
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Pray for the Palyu of China

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Chinese, Mandarin
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

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Media Resources in Chinese, Mandarin:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Chinese, Mandarin:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Chinese, Mandarin bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Palyu:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Palyu are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Palyu:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Palyu are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Palyu:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Palyu of China

You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it.
readPsalm 65:9

Give thanks for God's provision in nature, and pray that those who don't know Him will recognize His hand, desire to know their Creator, and hear the truth that Jesus is the solution to the world's greatest need.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
readHebrews 4:12

Pray for God's Word to be accessible to everyone in this people group in a way they will resonate with so that many will engage with it, receive it, and share it with others.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
read2 Corinthians 9:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust God in all things, especially in times of persecution.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
readPsalm 139:14

Praise God for His creativity and power, and pray that He will raise up men and women from among them who are in awe of all He has done and want to go share the hope of Christ with others.

Palyu Across Countries (ROP3 - 107801) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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