The population is about 486 thousand. The majority live in Lancang County and Menglian County of Yunnan Province. A few live with other ethnic groups in the counties on the southwest border of Yunnan Province. The people use the Lahu language, which belongs to the Yi branch of Tibeto-Burman languages of the Sino-Tibetan language family with two dialects, Lahuna and Lahuxi. Due to the Lahu people’s long-term close interaction with the Han and Dai people, most of the Lahu people are also proficient in Chinese and the Dai language. In the past, the Lahu people once used the script in the form of Latin alphabets devised by western missionaries. In 1957, a phonogram script was created based on the original one. The Lahu people used to farm using primitive techniques like slash and burn. In recent decades, advancements in politics, economy, culture, education and hygiene have been achieved. Before 1950s, the Lahu people believed in polytheistic primitive religion. Later, Mahayana Buddhism has gradually become popular among the Lahu people after its introduction into the ethnic group. There are also a few villagers who believe in Christianity or Catholicism. Traditional festivals of the Lahu include the “Spring Festival”, “Dragon Boat Festival”, “Torch Festival”, “Festival of Eating New Rice”, etc. The “Spring Festival” is the most significant one. Every household prepares rice cakes for the festival in advance. During the festival, the whole community is filled with joy and laughter. No matter young or old, male or female, people all wear new clothes in bright colours, visit friends and relatives and do communal dancing.