Nanai in Russia. In the Soviet Union, a written standard of the Nanai language (based on Cyrillic) was created by Valentin Avrorin and others. It is still taught today in 13 schools in Khabarovsk. China The Nanai are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China where they are known as "Hezhe" (). According to the last census of 2004, they numbered 4,640 in China (mostly in Heilongjiang province). Chinese Nanai speak the Hezhen dialect of Nanai. They also have a rich oral literature known as the Yimakan. The dialect does not have a written system in China and Nanai usually write in Chinese. (Second language literacy is 84%.) However, as of 2005 teachers have recently finished compiling what is probably the first Hezhe language textbook. Distribution By province The 2000 Chinese census recorded 4640 Nanai in China. Provincial Distribution of the Nanai By county County-level distribution of the Nanai (Only includes counties or county-equivalents containing >0.45% of China's Nanai population.) Notable Nanai Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's 1975 film Dersu Uzala, based on a book by Russian explorer Vladimir Arsenyev, describes the friendship of a Russian explorer and his Nanai guide named Dersu Uzala (who self-identified, and was referred to in Arsenyev's biography, as "Goldi"). Nanai female shaman Tchotghtguerele Chalchin performed an incantation recorded in Siberia for the song "The Lighthouse" (an adaptation of the poem "Flannan Isle" by English poet Wilfred Wilson Gibson) on French producer Hector Zazou's 1994 album Chansons des mers froides (Songs from the Cold Seas). Lead vocals were performed by Siouxsie Sioux and background music included performances by the Sakharine Percussion Group and the Sissimut Dance Drummers. Kola Beldy () (1929–1993) was a popular singer in the Soviet Union and Russia, particularly known for his rendition of "Увезу тебя я в тундру" (I will take you to the tundra). Han Geng, a Chinese pop singer, actor, former member of Korean boy band Super Junior and former leader of subgroup Super Junior-M. Kiliii Yuyan, an American photographer whose award-winning work spotlights the Arctic, indigenous communities and conservation through photography, filmmaking and public speaking. Kiliii is a feature contributor to National Geographic Magazine and other major publications. Maksim Passar, A sniper serving in the Red Army during World War II, credited with killing 237 enemy soldiers. Autonomous areas Gallery References General Ethnolog on Nanai Notes on the Nanai The Nanais Dominic