Xiong Shengxiang,?an ethnic Pumi, is a member of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).?He is also the director of the Administration for Religious Affairs of Yunnan Province.

The Pumis are concentrated in counties of the Yunnan Province in southwest China. Some live in Sichuan Province, in the Tibetan Autonomous County of Muli and Yanyuan County. They are on rugged mountains as high as 2,600 meters above sea level.

According to Pumi legends and historical records, ancient Pumis were a nomadic tribe, roaming the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. After the 13th century, the Pumis gradually settled down in Yunnan.

(China.org.cn March 12, 2009)