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The Pale De`ang of China

The Pale De`ang of China, numbering approximately 11,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a distinct ethnolinguistic subgroup of the De’ang people of China, part of the wider Palaung / Ta’ang family that extends across China, Myanmar, and Thailand. They mostly adhere to Mahayana Buddhism and Ruching Palaung is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Pale De'ang

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Mon-Khmer
Primary Language(s): Ruching Palaung (pce)
Primary Religion(s): Mahayana Buddhism
Population: 11,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006718
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Pray for the Pale De`ang 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Mahayana Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

99%
%
Mahayana Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Ruching Palaung
Language Family: Austroasiatic

100%
%
Palaung, Ruching Speakers

Media Resources in Ruching Palaung:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Ruching Palaung:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2012 Edition✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Ruching Palaung bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Pale De`ang:
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

Pray specifically for the Pale De`ang of China

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
readTitus 3:3

Pray for those who seek worldly pleasures instead of God to flee from sin and choose God’s goodness and lovingkindness by placing their faith in Jesus.

Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
readPsalm 25:5

Pray that the gospel will advance and that God will lead people in His truth, bringing many to salvation.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
readPsalm 51:10

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will quickly repent when they sin and walk with clean hearts and right spirits as they grow in their relationship with the Lord.

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
read2 Corinthians 3:16

Give thanks to God for believers around the world who are willing to cross cultures to share the gospel with those who are perishing. Pray that He will work through their witness to draw many to turn to Him.

Palaung, Silver Across Countries (ROP3 - 109011) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Silver PalaungPG009520Silver PalaungMyanmar272,000Engaged yet UnreachedRuching PalaungTheravada Buddhism
Pale De`angPG006718Pale De`angChina11,000Unengaged and UnreachedRuching PalaungMahayana Buddhism

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 Data Standards section.

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