The Achang (阿昌族), also known as the Ngac'ang or Maingtha, people are an ethnic group. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China.
The Achang number 27,700, of whom 27,600 are from Yunnan province, especially Dehong Autonomous Prefecture. The Achang have their own spoken language, but there is no indigenous written language to accompany it. Chinese characters are often used instead. [1]
Speaking a distinct dialect, the Husa Achang (戶撒) living Longchuan County (also in Dehong) consider themselves to be distinct and filed an unsuccessful application in the 1950s as a separate nationality. The Husa were more Sinicized than other Achang. For example, Confucian-styled ancestral memorial tablets are common in Husa homes. Most traditional Husa believe in a mixture of Theravada Buddhism and Daoism.
