This website highlights a number of fascinating people groups who live at the eastern fringe of the Tibetan Plateau in Sichuan Province. At this intersection between Tibetan, Qiang, Yi and Han civilizations, smaller groups exist who have unique languages and sub-cultures. The aim here is to, quite literally, put them on the map. It’s a work in progress. Your feedback and contributions via the “Contact” page would be very welcome.

The maps identify people groups mainly by the range of their languages, whether vigorous or on the wane; yet the ethnic identities of these groups are very much tied in with cultural & historical factors as well. Where significant numbers of a people group exist, the maps mainly label their administrative townships, though the precise location of their whereabouts may actually be in villages up into the mountains & valleys beyond. Languages, locations & people group names are all based on Mandarin Chinese renderings.