Li Chinese

Li (黎 pinyin Li2) is a minority Chinese ethnic group. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. Majority of Li Chinese lives on Hainan island on the south coast of China.

Li Chinese has its own language (黎语) which is classified as one of the Sino-Tibetan languages. Li language did not have a writing system, but it has adapted the Latin alphabet as writing system during the 1950s. Li has regular contacts with Han Chinese; therefore, the majority of Li can understand or speak Mandarin Chinese.