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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 Pale De`ang of China

The Pale De`ang of China, numbering approximately 11,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are one of Myanmar's most ancient indigenous peoples, many have fled from Shan and Kachin states to Thailand to escape persecution and are living in refugee camps. They are an Diaspora people, in the Mon-Khmer people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Buddhism - Mahayana. They primarily speak Palaung, Ruching.

Silver Palaung in Myanmar photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Kerry Olson Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Mon-Khmer
Primary Language(s): Palaung, Ruching (pce)
Primary Religion(s): Buddhism - Mahayana
Population: 11,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006718
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Pale De`ang of China

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Buddhism - Mahayana
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

%
Buddhism - Mahayana Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Palaung, Ruching
Language Family: Austro-Asiatic

%
Palaung, Ruching Speakers

Media Resources in Palaung, Ruching:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Palaung, Ruching:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Palaung, Ruching bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Pale De`ang

The Pale De`ang 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 Pale De`ang

The Pale De`ang 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 Pale De`ang

The Pale De`ang 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 Pale De`ang of China

And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."
readLuke 1:46-47

Pray that those who are lost will recognize their need for a Savior and joyfully embrace the mercy that God offers.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
readPsalm 1:1-2

Pray that God will call out many sons and daughters from among them and give them a deep love for His Word.

For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.
readPsalm 47:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will exalt the Lord, recognizing His reign over the nations and His sovereignty over all things.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
readEphesians 6:11

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will put on the full armor of God so that they will be able to stand against the schemes of the enemy.

Palaung, Silver (ROP3 - 109011) 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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