Hinduism (specifically the yogic school) is currently practiced by a minority of residents of China. The religion itself has a very limited presence in modern mainland China, but archaeological evidence suggests a significant presence of Hinduism in different provinces of medieval China. Hindu influences were also absorbed in to Buddhism and got mixed with Chinese mythology over its history. Practices originating in the Vedic tradition of ancient India such as yoga and meditation are also popular in China. Some indigenous people in China pray to Hindu gods such as Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha and Kali. Hindu communities, particularly through Tamil merchant guilds of Ayyavole and Manigramam, once thrived in medieval south China. Evidence of Tamil Shiva motifs and temples, such as in the Kaiyuan temple, continue to be discovered in Quanzhou, Fujian, a province of southeast China. A small community of Tamil immigrant workers currently exists in Hong Kong. History Although Hinduism is a little-practiced religion in China, it had a significant, but indirect role in influencing Chinese culture through Buddhist beliefs, practices and traditions (which share a common Dharmic root with Hinduism) which diffused and spread to China from India from the 1st or 2nd century CE onwards. During this influence and synthesis of ideas, some terms were mapped into pre-existing concepts - raksasas as luocha, others terms were introduced - pisacas in Hinduism as pishezuo in Chinese. As a result, traces of Hinduism's influence on Chinese culture can be found in Chinese Buddhism, which has syncretized many Hindu deities within its pantheon. One example is the Chinese Buddhist belief in the Twenty-Four Devas, a grouping of protective dharmapalas of Buddhism. Twenty-one of the devas in the group consists of deities borrowed from Hinduism, including, but not limited to, Dàzìzàitiān (Shiva), Dìshìtiān (Indra), Dàfàntiān (Brahma), Jíxiáng Tiānnǚ (Lakshmi), Biàncáitiān (Saraswati) and Yánmóluówáng (Yama). Statues of the Twenty-Four Devas are enshrined in many Chinese Buddhist temples and monasteries, usually in the Mahavira Hall. Aside from the deities, other beings from Hinduism are also shared in Chinese Buddhist belief, such as the Eight Legions of Devas and Nāgas (Chinese: 天龍八部; Pinyin: Tiānlóngbābù) which includes beings like asuras, mahoragas and kinnaras. Yakshas (Chinese: 夜叉; Pinyin: Yèchā) originally from Hinduism, are a class of nature ghosts or demons in Chinese Buddhism. Belief in the Yaksha made its way to China through the Lotus Sutra, which was originally translated into Chinese by Dharmaraksa around 290