The Shan people (Short name or simple name in Shan: တႆး, pronounced, Real name တႆးလူင်, IPA taj˥.loŋ˨˦; Burmese: ရှမ်းလူမျိုး, pronounced [ʃáɰ̃ lùmjó]), also known as the Tai Long or Thai Yai, are a Tai ethnic group of Southeast Asia.

Shan, Southeast Asian people who live primarily in eastern and northwestern Myanmar (Burma) and also in Yunnan province, China. The Shan are the largest minority group in Myanmar, making up nearly one-tenth of the nation’s total population.

Most Shan people live today in much the same way as they always have. The majority live in small, rural villages where they farm subsistence and cash crops such as rice and tropical and sub-tropical fruit and vegetables.

In the precolonial period Shan fought with Burmese, other Shan, Chinese, Northern Thai, and other neighboring groups in succession disputes and assorted alliances. The Shan People and Palaung People in Myanmar and the De’ang, Bouyei and Dong in China are related.

Shans reside mostly in eastern Myanmar in the Shan State (See Below), but also inhabit parts of Mandalay Region, Kachin State, and Kayin State, and in adjacent regions of China (where they full into the Dai people category), Laos, Assam (Ahom people) and Thailand. The Shan have traditionally settled in valleys and river basins rather than in ...

Although there are no sure census figures in Myanmar, the Shan population there has been estimated at more than 5 million, perhaps as many as 7 million. There are Shan-related ethnic people in India's Assam, China's Yunnan Province (the Dai people), Laos, Thailand, and northern Vietnam as well.

The Chinese Shan States were petty states or small territories of Shan people ruled by local monarchs under the suzerainty of China. They were also known as Koshanpye or "Nine Shan States".

掸族（Shan），一般指分布在 缅甸联邦共和国 的泰民族，但 缅甸 联邦共和国政府将其境内的泰民族分别命名为“掸族（Shan）”、“昆族（Khun）”、“允族（Yun）”、“罕底族（Khanti）”、“小掸族（ShanGale）”、“大掸族（Shan Gyi）”、“毛掸族（Maw shan）”、“泰兰族（Tai Lem）”、“泰隆族（Tai Lon）”、“泰那族（TaiLay）”等不同族称。 实际上，缅甸各地的泰民族并不承认缅甸官方的民族划分，对外均统一自称为“Tai”，普通缅族人称其为“Shan”。

Shan People. Shan is characterized by tall, with light skin. Their estimated population is around 4-5 million. The capital of Shan State is Taunggyi, the fifth-largest city in Myanmar with about 390,000 people. Other major cities include Thibaw (Hsipaw), Lashio, Kengtung and Tachileik.

Who are the shan people? The Burmese Shan are a large group of civilized people who migrated south from China in the twelfth century and established three small states in Myanmar. The Shan language belongs to the southwestern group of tonal languages. The people refer to themselves as the Great Tai.