The population is about 703 thousand. The majority live in Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province. A few reside in nearby prefectures and counties, as well as in counties such as Yanyuan, Yanbian and Muli in Sichuan Province. The Lisu language is used, which belongs to the Yi branch of Tibeto-Burman languages of Sino-Tibetan language family. Until now they have adopted three different scripts, namely phonogram devised by western missionaries, syllabary created by the Lisu people living in Weixi Country and the new script in the form of Latin alphabets created after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. The last one has been implemented among the Lisu people nowadays. In the past, the Lisu people lived on remote and isolated mountains with an underdeveloped level of productivity. They made their living by primitive slash-and-burn agriculture as well as hunting. In recent decades, the Lisu people have improved their transportation, by which they break the barrier of mountains and attain rapid development in economy and culture. The Lisu people used to believe in primitive religions. With the arrival of western missionaries in early 20th century, there are a few who believe in Christianity or Catholicism. Their major festivals include the “Kuoshijie Festival”, “Daogan Festival”, “Bathing Festival”, “Harvest Festival”, etc.