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The Tiger is a national symbol

Shan flag

  The land and language

Family
Tai or Dai. 

People Group Family
Known as Tai Yai in Thailand. Ethnically related to the Thai. Name means "elder brother of the Thai."

Subgroups, 12 different
Tai Nue (Northern or Chinese Shan), Tai Lam (Black Shan of Laos, China), Tai Sa (Chinese Shan), Tai Mao (live along China/Shan State border), Tai Khun, Tai Sipson Panna (Northern Shan State), Tai Kham Ti (Northern Shan State, Kachin State), Tai Lue (Lanna, Thailand), Tai Long (Thailand, Central Shan State), Tai Leng (Kachin, Shan State border), Tai Loi (Mountain Shan/Hill Shan), Tai Lai. All Shans consider themselves "Shan" and not as members of the different subgroups. Defining them separately only serves to divide them as a people.

Language
Tai with dialects varying for each group. There are 5 tones (Chinese Shan have 6). The Shan have their own alphabet related to ancient Sanskrit. Shan, like Thai, is built on 5 different tones. Though dialects vary, the written Shan script is nearly identical among the different groups.

Home countries
Burma, China (Yunnan Province), Laos, Thailand.

Shan State Capital
Taunggyi. There are 32 states in the Shan State of Burma.

 National symbol
The Shan symbol is a tiger. The Shan flag consists of yellow, green and red stripes with a white circle in the middle. Yellow stands for Buddhism and that the Shan are part of the yellow race. Green symbolizes the verdant landscape, a warm climate and farming. Red symbolizes the Shan’s courage. The white disk is for the moon, the Shan’s pure and peaceful spirit. It is forbidden to use this flag in Burma and Thailand.

Population
It is impossible to get accurate statistics due to the difficult situation in Burma. According to Shan leaders there are 30 million Shan in the world. According to the Burmese military regime, there are 4 million Shan in the Shan State. and they comprise about 10% of the population in Burma. There are estimated to be about 2 million Shan in Thailand.