The population is over 10.388 million. The Manchu people are distributed across the country with the majority in Liaoning Province. They use the Manchu language which belongs to the Manchu branch of Manchu-Tungusic languages of the Altaic language family. It has two kinds of dialects, the north and the south. Because of their mixed habitation and frequent interaction with the Han people, the Manchu people are now accustomed to using Chinese. Only a few who live in remote villages and some of the aged are still able to speak the Manchu language. At the end of the 16th century, the Manchu script was devised based on the Mongolian language. Nowadays the Manchu people use Chinese characters. Manchu is an ethnic group with a long history. At first, they made their living by fishing and hunting, and were engaged in agriculture later on. With the founding of the Qing Dynasty in the 17th Century, they actively absorbed the advanced agricultural technology and culture of the people of the Central Plains, achieving a high level of economic development.  The Manchu people used to believe in polytheistic Shamanism. Their festivals are similar to those of the Han people, such as the “Spring Festival”, the “Lantern Festival”, the “Longtaitou Festival”, the “Dragon Boat Festival”, the “Mid-Autumn Festival”, etc.