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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Southern Dong of China

The Southern Dong of China, numbering approximately 2,500,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are the largest and most culturally conservative subgroup of the Dong (Kam) people, known for preserving traditional language, architecture, ritual life, and music more fully than their Northern Dong counterparts. They mostly adhere to Chinese Folk Religion and Southern Dong is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Tai
Primary Language(s): Southern Dong (kmc)
Primary Religion(s): Chinese Folk Religion
Population: 2,500,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006727
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Pray for the Southern Dong 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Chinese Folk Religion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

93%
%
Chinese Folk Religion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Southern Dong
Language Family: Tai-Kadai

100%
%
Dong, Southern Speakers

Media Resources in Southern Dong:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Southern Dong:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Southern Dong bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Southern Dong 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 Southern Dong:
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

Pray specifically for the Southern Dong of China

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
readMatthew 11:28

Pray for those who are tired, weary, and burdened by the weight of sin to encounter Jesus and experience the rest that only He can give.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
read1 John 1:5

As mobile phones, radio, and satellite television, and other technologies become more available worldwide, pray for people who are developing digital gospel resources so that others can easily access the gospel.

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.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
readPsalm 139:14

Praise God for His creativity and power, and pray that He will raise up men and women from among them who are in awe of all He has done and want to go share the hope of Christ with others.

Dong, Southern Across Countries (ROP3 - 114043) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
Southern DongPG006727Southern DongChina2,500,000Engaged yet UnreachedSouthern DongChinese Folk Religion

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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