The population is about 40 thousand. The Achang people mainly reside in the counties such as Longchuan and Lianghe in Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province, and a few of them reside in the counties and cities such as Yingjiang, Luxi and Ruili, as well as in Longling and Tengchong Counties in Baoshan region. The Achang language belongs to the Mian branch of the Tibeto-Burman languages of the Sino-Tibetan language family. It includes three dialects: Lianghe, Longchuan and Luxi. Since they have long lived with the Han and Dai people, the Achang people can generally speak Chinese or the Dai language fluently. The Achang ethnic group does not have its own script and the people are accustomed to using Chinese characters and the Dai script. The agriculture and handicraft industries of Achang are well developed and its “Hulasa tobacco” is well known in west Yunnan Province and is exported to Myanmar. The “Achang knife” is also favoured by all ethnic groups living on the border between Yunnan and Myanmar and has become a necessary tool for production. Their cash crops such as sugar cane and tea leaves, handicrafts such as embroidery and woven fabrics are also very famous. The Achang people normally believe in Theravada Buddhism. Their major festivals include “Ganbai”, “Dengwolo”, “Huijie Festival”, “Festival of Eating New Rice”, “Water Splashing Festival”, “Jinwa” and “Chuwa” , etc., which are similar to the neighbouring Dai people. Besides, they also hold festive activities such as “Torch Festival”, “Huanhuangdan”, “Burning White Firewood” and “Watering Flowers”.