Prominent types of wild life include the bison, boar, bear, gibbon, hedgehog, and cockatoo. The Zhuang live largely in the western two-thirds of the region, while the Han are concentrated in the eastern third. The Yao, Miao, and Dong people are widely scattered. The Zhuang people have inhabited Guangxi since ancient times. Living on the plains and in the river valleys of the hilly west, they cultivate rice in paddy fields and practice an economy that easily merges with that of the Han people.
Agriculture is concentrated in the river valleys and on the limestone plains.
The hillsides are terraced wherever feasible. Major grain crops include rice, maize, wheat, and sweet potatoes. The leading commercial crops include peanuts, sesame, ramie or China grass, tobacco, tea, cotton, and indigo. The raising of livestock in Guangxi is ancillary to farming. Buffaloes are used as draft animals in the paddy field.