The Zhuang people (Chinese: ??; pinyin: Zhu鄋gz? Zhuang: Bouxcuengh) are an ethnic group who mostly live in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. Some also live in the Yunnan; Guangdong; Guizhou and Hunan provinces. They form one of the 55 minority ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. With the Buyi; Tay-N鵱g; and other northern Tai speakers; they are sometimes known as the Rau or Rao. Their population; estimated at 18 million people; puts them second only to the Han Chinese and makes the Zhuang the largest minority in China.Nanning was originally founded during the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368); although there was a county seat here called Jinxing as far back as 318 CE.

Opened to foreign trade by the Chinese in 1907; Nanning grew rapidly. From 1912 to 1936 it was the provincial capital of Guangxi; replacing Guilin.

Due to its proximity to the Vietnamese border Nanning became a major centre for supplying Ho Chi Minh's North Vietnam during the Second Indochina War (Vietnam War).