the words hmong and mong refer to an asian ethnic group. their homeland is in china, especially along the yangtze and yellow river. in the 18th century, hmong people started moving to other southeast asian countries. today, they live in all of china, northern vietnam, laos, thailand, and myanmar. in 1975, communists took over laos. after they took over, many hmong people moved to the united states, australia, france, french guiana, and canada. hmong people divide themselves into the white hmong, the green hmong, and other smaller groups.