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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Naxi of China

The Naxi of China, numbering approximately 341,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of China and can also be known as Naxi of Lijiang. They are an Indigenous people, in the Other Tibeto-Burmese people cluster of the Tibetan / Himalayan Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Ancestor Worship. They primarily speak Naxi.

Naxi in China photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Lee Snider - Shutterstock Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Other Tibeto-Burmese
Primary Language(s): Naxi (nxq)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Ancestor Worship
Population: 341,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007333

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Pray for the Naxi of China

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Ancestor Worship
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Ancestor… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Naxi
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

%
Naxi Speakers

Media Resources in Naxi:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Naxi:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Naxi bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Naxi

The Naxi 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 Naxi

The Naxi 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 Naxi

The Naxi 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 Naxi of China

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
readIsaiah 59:2

Pray that those who are separated from God will turn to Him in humility and repentance, seeking His forgiveness and the restoration of a right relationship with their Heavenly Father.

The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.
readPsalm 104:8

Pray that they will see the hand of God in the beauty and order of the natural world, and that they will worship Him as the Creator and Sustainer of all things.

And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be.”
readGenesis 15:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust God to keep His promises.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
readHebrews 4:12

Pray that God will make His living and active Word available to everyone in this people group so that many will respond to the gospel. Ask Him to provide Jesus-followers to walk with new believers as they grow in Him.

Naxi (ROP3 - 114251) 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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