The Ha Li of China

The Ha Li of China, numbering approximately 929,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are the largest Li people of Hainan Island whose Ha language serves as the principal lingua franca among Li communities and whose identity reflects a long history of resistance, adaptation, and cultural continuity. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Hlai is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Li, Ha

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Li
Primary Language(s): Hlai (lic)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 929,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007259
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Ha Li 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

25%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Hlai
Language Family: Tai-Kadai

90%
%
Hlai Speakers

Media Resources in Hlai:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Hlai:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Hlai bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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 Ha Li:
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 Ha Li of China

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.
readJohn 11:25

Pray for the many who have never heard about or understood the importance of what Jesus did for them, asking God to make a way for them to hear that the perfect Son of Man suffered, died, and rose again so that they might be saved.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
readPsalm 119:105

Pray that they will receive the Word of God as a lamp to their feet and commit their ways to Him.

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
readLamentations 3:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and walk through trials, they will be satisfied with the Lord as their portion and will place all their hope in Him.

Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
readPsalm 149:3

Pray that God will send His people across cultures to share the gospel so that those who don't yet know the truth about Him might praise His name and share the hope of Christ with others.

Li, Ha Across Countries (ROP3 - 114167) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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.

Scroll to Top