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
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Gao of China

The Gao of China, numbering approximately 3,600 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are native to China, Guizhou Province. They are an Indigenous people, in the Miao / Hmong people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion. They primarily speak Qau.

Gao 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: Miao / Hmong
Primary Language(s): Qau (gqu)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 3,600
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022165
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Gao of China

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Qau
Language Family: Kra-Dai

%
Qau Speakers

Media Resources in Qau:

Films:

No entries found for: Qau(gqu). Help build some!

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Qau:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Qau bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Gao

The Gao 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 Gao

The Gao 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 Gao

The Gao 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 Gao of China

Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him.
readIsaiah 45:24

Pray that those who are weary and burdened by their own righteousness will find rest in the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ alone.

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.
readPsalm 127:3

Pray that God will bless this generation of children, that they will come to know Jesus early in life and follow Him always.

The LORD bless you and keep you.
readNumbers 6:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be blessed with God's grace, trusting that He will never abandon them.

For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.
readPsalm 96:4

Pray that God will raise up believers to declare His glory among the lost, so that they may know that He is great and greatly to be praised, that He is exalted above all gods. 

Gao, Gelao (ROP3 - 115102) 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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