The Chuanlan of China

The Chuanlan of China, numbering approximately 417,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a large, culturally distinct community in southwest China who are officially classified as Han Chinese but do not see themselves as the same as mainstream Han. They are also known as Lao Han, 老汉, Tunbao, 屯堡. They are an Indigenous people in the Other Tibeto-Burmese people cluster of the Tibetan Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Chinese, Mandarin and their primary religion is Ethnoreligion.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Chuanlan

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Tibetan Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Other Tibeto-Burmese
Primary Language(s): Chinese, Mandarin (cmn)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 417,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG006713
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Chuanlan 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

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

100%
%
Chinese, Mandarin Speakers

Bible Resources in Chinese, Mandarin:

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

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), 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): Marginally Reached People Group, (LPI: 4), 3% to 6% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical (GSEC: 4), this people group is greater than or equal to 2% evangelical

Next steps for the Chuanlan:
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 Chuanlan 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 Chuanlan:
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 Chuanlan 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 Chuanlan:
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 Chuanlan of China

And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many."
readMark 14:23-24

Pray for those who may have heard the gospel but have not yet submitted their lives to Christ, that they will finally see the sacrifice which He made for them and surrender their lives to Him.

Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
readMark 10:14b

Praise Jesus for the way He loves children, asking that many will learn the truth about Him and come to Him unhindered.

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
readColossians 2:6-7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be rooted and built up in Him, abounding in thanksgiving for the grace and mercy He has shown them.

And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
readMatthew 25:40

Ask God to raise up and send believers who will serve "the least of these" with compassion and energy because they know that in serving those in need, they are serving Christ.

Chuanlan Across Countries (ROP3 - 114027) 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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