Why do Thais look so different?

Thais vary greatly in appearance, mainly because of different races.

There are more than 30 nationalities in China. The main ethnic groups are Thais, accounting for 40% of the total population, and the rest are Laos, Chinese, Malays and Khmer, as well as Miao, Yao, Guangxi, Brunei, Karen, Shan, Semang and Shagai. Thai is the national language. More than 90% people believe in Buddhism, Malays believe in Islam, and a few people believe in Christianity, Catholicism, Hinduism and Sikhism.

Thais are distributed all over the country, accounting for 75% of the national population. According to its distribution area and dialect, it can be divided into central Thailand, northeastern Thailand, northern Thailand and southern Thailand. Although central Thailand has great influence in politics, society and culture, its population is not dominant. According to statistics in the mid-1960s, Thais in the central and northeastern regions accounted for 32% and 30% of the total population respectively. In the mid-1990s, the proportion of Thais in the central region dropped to 28%, while that in the northeast region remained at around 30%.

Chinese, about 9 million in Thailand, accounting for 14% of the national population, is the largest ethnic group except Thais. A large number of Chinese immigrated to Thailand mainly from the second half of19th century to 1930s. Historically, the main occupation of Chinese is to act as interveners of Chinese, and their footprints are all over the towns and villages of Thailand. At present, Chinese mainly live in Bangkok and the central part of the peninsula. Chinese is highly assimilated. Because most of the Chinese and Huatai mixed-race people who moved to Thailand before the 20th century have fully integrated into the local society, they are not included in the Chinese population.

Malays, there are about 2 million Malays in Thailand, of whom 6,543,800,000 live in the four southernmost provinces of Thailand: Pattani, Yala, Taogong and Shadun (about 70% of the local population). Malays in Thailand believe in Islam and act in accordance with Islamic rules and customary laws in their daily lives. Especially in Pattani, Yala and Taogong, most Malays can't speak Thai and maintain the traditional Malay culture.

Khmer, Khmer in Thailand can be divided into two categories: ancient residents and recent immigrants. Mainly distributed in the northeastern and southeastern provinces of Thailand bordering Laos and Cambodia. In the 65438+5th century, most ministers in the west of Khmer Kingdom belonged to Ayutthaya dynasty. After this place was incorporated into the territory of Thailand, many Khmer people still lived here. They also have a high degree of assimilation, mainly speaking Thai or taking Thai as their first language. Religious beliefs are similar to those of Thais. In 1970s, due to the protracted civil war in Cambodia, hundreds of thousands of Khmer crossed the Thai-Cambodian border and entered Thailand. These new immigrants still retain their own language and culture. According to statistics, there were about 600,000-800,000 Khmer people in Thailand in the 1980s.