The Miao are a linguistically and culturally related group of people recognized by the government of the People's Republic of China as one of the 55 official minority groups.

Miao is a Chinese term and does not reflect the self-designations of the component sub-groups, which include (with some variant spellings) Hmong, Hmu, A Hmao, and Kho (Qho) Xiong. The Miao live primarily in southern China, in the provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi, Hainan, Guangdong, and Hubei.

Some members of the Miao sub-groups, most notably Hmong people, have migrated out of China into Southeast Asia (northern Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand). Following the communist takeover of Laos in 1975, a large group of Hmong refugees resettled in several Western nations (United States, France, Australia, and elsewhere.)

Nanning was originally founded during the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368), although there was a county seat here called Jinxing as far back as 318 CE.

Opened to foreign trade by the Chinese in 1907, Nanning grew rapidly. From 1912 to 1936 it was the provincial capital of Guangxi, replacing Guilin.

Due to its proximity to the Vietnamese border Nanning became a major centre for supplying Ho Chi Minh's North Vietnam during the Second Indochina War (Vietnam War).