The Qiang people (Chinese: 羌族; Mandarin Pinyin: qiāng zú; Jyutping: goeng¹ zuk⁶) are an ethnic group of China. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, with a population of approximately 200,000, living mainly in northwestern part of Sichuan province.

At present, the Qiang have a self-identity, referring to themselves as Qiang zu (羌族) and erma or rma (尔玛). There are about 200,000 Qiang people today in western Sichuan, predominantly in the five counties of Maoxian, Wenchuan, Lixian, Beichuan and Heishui, of the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. On 12 May 2008, the Qiang people were heavily affected by the major Sichuan earthquake, whose epicenter was in Wenchuan County.

The Qiang today are mountain dwellers. A fortress village, zhai 寨, composed of 30 to 100 households, in general, is the basic social unit beyond the household. An average of two to five fortress villages in a small valley along a mountain stream, known in local Chinese as gou 溝, make up a village cluster (cun 村). The inhabitants of fortress village or village cluster have close contact in social life. In these small valleys, people cultivate narrow fluvial plains along creeks or mountain terraces, hunt animals or collect mushrooms and herbs (for food or medicine) in the neighboring woods, and herd yaks and horses on the mountain-top pastures. In the past, warfare between villages was common.

Song Ping (Chinese: 宋平; pinyin: Sòng Píng; born April 1917) was an official in the Communist Party of China, a former member of the Standing Committee, and is considered a member of the Second Generation of Chinese Leadership.

He rose through the ranks of the party to become first secretary of CPC Gansu Division, and later Minister of Organization of CPC. Song was in charge of senior cadres' recommendation, candidacy and promotion.^{[citation needed]}

During his time as First Secretary of CPC Gansu Division, Song Ping became mentor of two young protéges - Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao^{[citation needed]} - who were to become the current Chinese president and the current Premier of the Chinese State Council respectively.

In 1987, Song left the Planning Commission to replace Wei Jianxing as head of the CPC Central Organization Department. Song announced a decision by the Communist Party of China to expel members of the communist party who were sympathetic to pro-democracy demonstrations in the spring of 1988.