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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Tai Lu of China

The Tai Lu of China, numbering approximately 596,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic group of China, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam. They mostly adhere to Mahayana Buddhism and Lü is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Tai Lu

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Tai
Primary Language(s): Lü (khb)
Primary Religion(s): Mahayana Buddhism
Population: 596,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007394
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Pray for the Tai Lu 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: Lü
Language Family: Tai-Kadai

100%
%
Lü Speakers

Media Resources in Lü:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Lü:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Lü 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): Pioneer Unreached People Group, (LPI: 1), 0.1% or Greater but Less than 0.5% 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 Tai Lu:
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 Tai Lu of China

And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."
readLuke 1:46-47

Pray that those who are lost will recognize their need for a Savior and joyfully embrace the mercy that God offers.

The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
readPsalm 146:9

Pray for God to watch over people, wherever they are, and cause them to meet believers who will share the gospel with them clearly and lovingly.

But Jesus called them to him, saying "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God."
readLuke 18:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a burden to share the hope of Christ with children.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.
readLuke 10:1

Ask God to raise up, send out, and sustain Christians who can go together to share the good news of Jesus with those who need it.

Tai Lu Across Countries (ROP3 - 114183) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

6 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
Tai LuPG022384Tai LuThailand95,000Engaged yet UnreachedLüMahayana Buddhism
Tai LuPG011178Tai LuVietnam5,600Engaged yet UnreachedLüEthnoreligion
Tai LuPG009471Tai LuMyanmar327,000Engaged yet UnreachedLüAnimism
Tai LuPG009145Tai LuLaos208,000Engaged yet UnreachedLüEthnoreligion
Tai LuPG043330Tai LuUnited States5,200Unengaged and UnreachedLüEthnoreligion
Tai LuPG007394Tai LuChina596,000Unengaged and UnreachedLüMahayana 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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