The Miao (Chinese: 苗; pinyin: Miáo; Vietnamese: Mèo or H'Mông; Thai: แม้ว (Maew) or ม้ง (Mong); Burmese: mun lu-myo) is an ethnic group recognized by the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) as one of the 55 official minority groups. Miao is a Chinese term and does not reflect the self-designations of the component nations of people, which include (with some variant spellings) Hmong, Hmu, A Hmao, and Kho (Qho) Xiong. The Chinese government has grouped these people and other non-Miao peoples together as one group, whose members may not necessarily be either linguistically or culturally related. For this reason, many Miao peoples can not communicate with each other, and have different histories and cultures. Some groups designated as Miao by the PRC do not even agree that they belong to the ethnic group.

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, Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand). Following the communist takeover of Laos in 1975, a large group of Hmong refugees resettled in several Western nations, such as the United States, France, Australia, and elsewhere. There has been a recent tendency by (H)mong Americans to group all Miao peoples together under the term Hmong because of their disdain for the Chinese term Miao. This however fails to recognize that, while the Hmong are a small nation within the broader linguistic/cultural family of Miao people, the vast majority of Miao people do not classify themselves as Hmong and have their own names for themselves.

The Hmong (RPA: Hmoob/Moob, IPA: [m̥ɔ̃ŋ]), are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity (苗族) in southern China. Hmong groups began a gradual southward migration in the 18th century due to political unrest and to find more arable land.

A number of Hmong people fought against the communist Pathet Lao during the Laotian Civil War. Hmong people were singled out for retribution when the Pathet Lao took over the Laotian government in 1975, and tens of thousands fled to Thailand seeking political asylum. Thousands of these refugees have resettled in Western countries since the late 1970s, mostly the United States but also in Australia, France, French Guiana, Canada, and South America. Others have been returned to Laos under United Nations-sponsored repatriation programs. Around 8,000 Hmong refugees remain in Thailand.

Song Zuying (Chinese: 宋祖英; pinyin: Sòng Zǔyīng; born August 13, 1966) is an ethnic Miao Chinese singer.

Song was born in Guzhang county, part of a Miao autonomous prefecture in Hunan and studied in the department of music and dancing at the Central Institute for Nationalities in Beijing, after which she studied at the China Music College. Her father died when she was 12, and she is the oldest daughter. In 1991, she joined the Chinese People's Liberation Army Naval Song and Dance Troupe as a national first-class singer. As of 2009, she is a non-combatant Rear Admiral in the Chinese Navy.

In the recent years, she has been received the following awards:

Song Zuying has published many personal albums and videos, and she has published Happy Life – Photo Album of Song Zuying, Real Passion in the Music World – Selection of Songs by Song Zuying and Voices of a Hundred Years – The Classics of the Songs in the Chinese Films over a Century.

In recent years, Song Zuying has visited Europe, Australia, USA, Canada and Southeastern Asia for the art interaction with China Art Delegation. In the World Cup held in Korea in 2002, Song was invited to sing representing the Chinese in the large scale vocal concert. In December 2002, as the culture ambassador for the 30th anniversary for the establishment of the diplomatic relation between China and Australia, she held the vocal concert “Prosperity” in Sydney, Australia successfully. In November 2003, she held the personal vocal concert in the Golden Hall in Vienna, Austria successfully.