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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Naxi of China

The Naxi of China, numbering approximately 341,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of China and can also be known as Naxi of Lijiang. They are an Indigenous people, in the Other Tibeto-Burmese people cluster of the Tibetan / Himalayan Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Ancestor Worship. They primarily speak Naxi.

Naxi in China photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Lee Snider - Shutterstock Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Other Tibeto-Burmese
Primary Language(s): Naxi (nxq)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Ancestor Worship
Population: 341,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007333

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Pray for the Naxi of China

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Ancestor Worship
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Ancestor… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Naxi
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

%
Naxi Speakers

Media Resources in Naxi:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Naxi:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Naxi bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Naxi

The Naxi 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 Naxi

The Naxi 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 Naxi

The Naxi 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 Naxi of China

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
readMatthew 5:16

Pray that those who are deceived about what brings peace will not settle for any lies they’ve heard about God and will diligently seek Him and be satisfied when they learn the truth about who He is and what He’s done.?

"You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet."
readMatthew 5:13

Pray that the lost will have the opportunity to hear a Christian witness of how the gospel can bring hope and that they will put their faith in Christ.

But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.
readHebrews 10:32-33

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the day of their salvation and persevere in their faith despite hardships and suffering.

He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
readJohn 1:7

Pray that God will raise up witnesses to testify about Jesus so that all might believe, knowing that He is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.

Naxi (ROP3 - 114251) 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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