Nu people

Nu

Fence in Niujie, Beijing depicting the ethnicities of China, including the Nu people (怒族) (right)
Total population
27,000
Regions with significant populations
Kachin (Myanmar). Yunnan (China): 27,000
Languages
Nusu, Rouruo, Dulong, Nung (Anong)
Religion
Most are Christian, Tibetan Buddhism, Animism
Related ethnic groups
Lisu, Nung, Rawang, Derung, Tibetan

The Nu people (Chinese: 怒族; pinyin: Nùzú; alternative names include Nusu, Nung, Zauzou and Along) are one of the 56 ethnic groups recognized by the People's Republic of China. Their population of 27,000 is divided into the Northern, Central and Southern groups. Their homeland is a country of high mountains and deep ravines crossed by the Dulong, Irrawaddy (N'Mai River and Mali River), and Nujiang rivers. The name "Nu" comes from the fact that they were living near the Nujiang river, and the name of their ethnic group derives from there. (Nujiang is also called Nu river or Chinese: 怒江; pinyin: Nù Jiāng or Salween River.)

The Nu live mainly in Kachin State and Yunnan province. In China, 90% of them are found in Gongshan, Fugong and Lanping counties in Yunnan Province, along with Lisu, Drung, Tibetan, Nakhi, Bai and Han. There is also a sparse distribution of Nu in Weixi County in the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Zayu County in Tibet Autonomous Region, particularly at the border between Yunnan and Tibet.

The Nu speak various languages in the Tibeto-Burman family. They do not have a written language of their own, although the Chinese government has helped them to develop a script based on the Latin alphabet.