The Hani Nationality has a population of about 1-29 million, living in compact communities mainly in the Ailao Mountain region between the Honghe River in southern Yunnan and the Lancang River,which includes Honghe Prefecture, Mojiang, Pu'Er and Jiangcheng of Simao Prefecture and Yuanjiang County of Yuxi Prefecture. The Hani nationality has a long history .It shares the same ancestors with the Diqiang, the Yi, the Naxi and the Lahu nationalies ,and developed into the present nationality in the process of migration and reproduction. They were called "Heman" in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, "Heni", "Hanni", "Hani" and "Ani "in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties . And they were named as the Hani nationality after Liberation .

Their language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman Stock of the Sino -Tibetan Language Family. But they don't have their own writing system.. They engage in farming and are good at making terraced fields. They believe in a multi-god religion and their wizards are called "Beima" and "Nima". Their typical houses are buildings on poles and cob-walled houses. The principal festivals are the Kuzhazha Festival and the Tenth Month Festival. The Tenth Month Festival falls on the first dragon day of the tenth month. On this occasion, the Hani people will hold long street banquets ,drinking wines and giving best wishes to each other. The Hani people cherish black color. Their clothes are often made of the cloth made by themselves .Men like to wear loose and short coats ,long trousers and black or white turbans . Women often wear collarless sleeveless overcoats with buttons on the right . They wear short skirts and leggings. Young girls often have silver bulbs, silver coins and silver chains as chest ornaments.