Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Asahei of China

The Asahei of China, numbering approximately 14,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a people of China and can also be known as Aza. They are an Indigenous people, in the Other Tibeto-Burmese people cluster of the Tibetan / Himalayan Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Chinese Folk Religion. They primarily speak Sani.

Asahei in China photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Operation China, Asia Harvest Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Other Tibeto-Burmese
Primary Language(s): Sani (ysn)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Chinese Folk Religion
Population: 14,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022149

Prayer Card
Submit Updates

Pray for the Asahei of China

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Pray Now!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Chinese Folk Religion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Chinese F… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sani
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

%
Sani Speakers

Media Resources in Sani:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Sani:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sani bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Asahei

The Asahei are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Asahei

The Asahei 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.

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

Next steps for the Asahei

The Asahei 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Asahei of China

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
readRomans 1:19

Pray that God will use testimony of creation to cause those who do not yet know the gospel to long for truth and a relationship with the Author of life.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
readPsalm 119:105

Pray that they will receive the Word of God as a lamp to their feet and commit their ways to Him.

Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth.
readJohn 17:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will experience freedom from sin as God sanctifies them in the truth of His Word.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
readJames 5:16

Pray that believers whom God sends will confess their sins, pray for one another, and live in unity. Ask that they will model healthy Christian relationships for this people group.

Asahei (ROP3 - 113995) 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.

Scroll to Top