The Qiangyi of China

The Qiangyi of China, numbering approximately 17,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a people of China They are an Indigenous people, with Qiang as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Tibetan people cluster of the Tibetan Peoples. They mostly adhere to Chinese Folk Religion and Southern Qiang is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Tibetan Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Tibetan
Primary Language(s): Southern Qiang (qxs)
Primary Religion(s): Chinese Folk Religion
Population: 17,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022107
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Qiangyi 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: Chinese Folk Religion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

95%
%
Chinese Folk Religion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Southern Qiang
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

70%
%
Qiang, Southern Speakers

Media Resources in Southern Qiang:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Southern Qiang:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Southern Qiang bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Qiangyi 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 Qiangyi:
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 Qiangyi of China

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
readRomans 1:19

Pray that God will use testimony of creation to cause those who do not yet know the gospel to long for truth and a relationship with the Author of life.

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.

And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!"
readMark 7:9

Pray that as men, women, boys, and girls place their faith in Christ, they will let go of any traditions that do not honor Him.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
read2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will serve others in Jesus' name, and the lost will have an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.

Qiangyi Across Countries (ROP3 - 114296) 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.

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