The vast majority live off the southern coast of China on Hainan Island,[3] where they are the largest minority ethnic group.

Divided into the five branches of the Qi (Gei), Ha, Run (Zwn), Sai (Tai, Jiamao) and Meifu (Moifau),[4] the Hlai have their own distinctive culture and customs.

[7] According to Schafer, the Li people were originally spread out across the continental coastline, covering Northern Vietnam and the area west of Guangzhou, including Hainan.

[8] The earliest mention of the term Li as an ethnonym was in the Han dynasty, referring to people of the highlands of Central Vietnam at Jiuzhen (Vietnamese: Cửu Chân).

[9] The 3rd century Nanzhou Yiwuzhi mentioned bandits called Lǐ (俚) who lived south of Guangzhou in the five commanderies: Cangwu, Yulin, Hepu, Ningpu and Gaoliang.

[12] In the Tang dynasty, the Li people of northern Vietnam were assigned a separate administrative status among the populace of the Annan protectorate, only paying half the taxes of ordinary subjects.

[15] However by the end of the Ming dynasty in the mid-17th century, virtually all areas of Hainan capable of intense cultivation had been settled by Han Chinese, while the Hlai filled the niche of supplying mountain products.

[16] The shu Li live in the foothills of the Five-Fingers mountains, and although their nature differs from that of Han people, still they plow and plant and pay taxes and perform corvée service.

by requiring them universally and gradually to comply, we will make shaven heads the prevailing custom, and they will not be able to pretend to be sheng Li and cause trouble.

He mocked previous campaigns against the Hlai for conquering hamlets of no value or significance while several thousand troops died of malaria.

This sets Hainan apart from other troublesome border regions of China, including Tibet, Xinjiang, Manchuria, Mongolia, and Taiwan.

Nationalist officers had 9,000 Hlai and 3,000 Miao executed after tricking them to the war fronts during a fake conscription campaign.

As the Nationalists retreated with over 1.5 million civilians that they evacuated to the hills with, they massacred and stole food from the ethnic Hlai as well as other tribal peoples.

In 1171, a Hlai woman by the name of Wang Erniang was bestowed the title of "Lady of Suitability" by the Song court and given the post of commander-general over 36 ethnic groups in the south.

The Li have no writing, and the bamboo they use is split into three parts, and upon it is carved the price and amount of “hill” land.

From the egg hatched a woman named Limu (literally "mother of the Li") who lived off of wild fruits and nested in the trees.

They stayed at home and were fed liquor believed to protect the ox and guarantee plentiful harvest.

The "najiaxila" bird of legend was worshiped as a protector god for taking care of an ancestor woman of the Hlai.

[27] The Hlai are believed to be descendants of the Rau people, Kra–Dai-speaking tribes of ancient China, who settled on the island thousands of years ago.

A 2019 study states that the Hlai show genetic affinities with Tai-Kadai (i.e. Zhuang and Dong) and Miao groups.