Often described as clinging to the steep faces of Yunnan and Sichuan's mountainsides, the Yi people remain one of China's most mysterious and diverse nationalities.  One of China's largest minorities, almost 7 million Yis are spread across Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi provinces in China's southwest. The largest concentration is the Liangshan Mountains Autonomous region around the city of Xichang.  Trips to Lugu Lake and Yuanyang also provide excellent chances to witness Yi culture.   

Many factors lead to often ambiguous information about the Yi, one of which is the scattering of Yi tribes in such a large area of China.  The climate and geography varies so much over the four provinces inhabited by the Yi, that the they naturally rely on very different natural resources for subsistence.  While coal and iron mining defines the Liangshan area, the Yi of southern Yunnan take advantage of abundant precious metals and minerals in the Ailao and Wuliang Mountains. 

Sub-cultural differences are another factor.  For example, if an Yi person from southern Yunnan met an Yi from Sichuan, they might not speak a common Yi language, and may even disagree that the other is in fact an Yi.  The Xiangtang, an ethnic group from southwest Yunnan, are classified as Yi even though they speak a completely different language. 

The Yi are well known within China for a feudal system that was practiced all the way up until Communist Party reforms when into effect in the 1950s.  A dominating class, known as the Black Yi, controlled the three castes below them, the bottom two of which were treated as slaves.  Below the Black Yi, the White Yi were not slaves, but were still controlled by the Black Yi.  Within China the Yi are historically regarded as fierce warriors, well known for their anti-imperialist resistance in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.    

See the Wikipedia entry on Yi people