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People group profile · PG022183

The Laowu of China

The Laowu of China, numbering about 11,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Southern Yi people of Jinping County in southern Yunnan who maintain a distinct Laowu identity within the wider Yi nationality and appear to represent a remnant of a once more widely distributed regional population.

They are an indigenous people in the Other Tibeto-Burmese people cluster of the Tibetan Peoples. Their primary religion is Chinese Folk Religion, and they primarily speak Eastern Nisu.

Pray for the LaowuPrint profile

AI-generated illustration representing the Laowu people
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph. Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Laowu

Fast facts

Country
China
Population
11,000
Affinity group
Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
People cluster
Other Tibeto-Burmese
Primary language
Eastern Nisu (nos)
Primary religion
Chinese Folk Religion
Strategic Progress Index ?
Unengaged and Unreached
Evangelical
No Known Evangelicals
GSEC ?
Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
Lostness priority ?
Frontier Unreached People Group
Region
Eastern Asia, Asia

Where they live

Gospel status

The Laowu are Unengaged and Unreached, which means fewer than 2% are evangelical Christians, and there has been no reported church planting activity in the past two years. In GSEC terms, this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years.

  • Congregations exist No
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

Next steps for the Laowu

  • Pray that God would send workers to this people group
  • Begin sowing the gospel and seek out people of peace
  • Plant the first churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice

Primary religion

Chinese Folk Religion · Ethnoreligion

97% adherents

Primary language

Eastern Nisu · Sino-Tibetan family

70% speak Eastern Nisu

Gospel resources in Eastern Nisu

  • Bible not available
  • JESUS Film not available
  • Radio programs not available
  • Gospel recordings available
  • Audio resources not available
  • Bible stories not available

Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.

Pray for the Laowu

  1. Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.
  2. John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
  3. Psalm 27:1. Pray that new believers will be strengthened in the face of persecution, with the Lord as their stronghold.
  4. Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.

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