统一的多民族大家庭

　　中国是一个统一的多民族国家，由汉、蒙古、回、藏、维吾尔、苗、彝、壮、布依、朝鲜、满等56个民族组成，实行民族平等的政策。在各个民族中，汉族人口最多，约占全国总人口的91.59%。除汉族以外的55个民族统称为少数民族。第五次(截至2000年11月1日)人口普查结果，少数民族总人口为10,643万，约占全国总人口的8.41%。

　　少数民族人口数量虽少，但地区分布很广，主要分布在西北、西南和东北等地。维吾尔族主要分布在新疆，是一个能歌善舞的民族；蒙古族主要分布于内蒙古高原，被称为“草原民族”；藏族主要分布在青藏高原，被称为“高原之鹰”；鄂伦春族分布在兴安岭山地，被称为“山岭上人”。 千百年来，中国各族人民在不同的自然和社会历史条件下，形成了不同特色的风俗习惯。 

　　United Multi-ethnic Country

　　China is a united multi-ethnic nation of 56 ethnic groups made up of Han, Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan, Uygur, Miao, Yi, Zhuang, Bouyei, Korean, Man and so on. A policy of equity has always been promoted among the many ethnic groups. The Han ethnic group has the largest population, accounting for 91.59% of the total population. The other 55 ethnic groups are customarily referred to as national minorities. The fifth census (by the end of the 1st of November 2000) showed that the population of the ethnic groups came up to 106.43 million, accounting for about 8.41% of the total population.

　　The ethnic minorities, with a comparatively small population, are distributed widely in China, but are mostly congregated in the northwest, southwest and northeast. The Uygur people, good at singing and dancing, are concentrated in Xinjiang. Mongolians, long known as the "Grassland people" are mainly distributed on the Mongolian Plateau. Tibetans distributed over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are often called the "Eagles of plateau". The Oreqen people inhabiting the mountainous areas of the Xing'an Range are often simply called the "Mountain people". For hundreds of years, various customs and habits of different Chinese ethnic groups have developed under different natural, social and historical conditions.