Historians generally believe that the Hakka ethnic group was a part of the Han (the majority ethnic group of China), which moved to the south because of the continuing invasions of foreigners.

Over a period of more than 1700 years, from the Jin Dynasty to the Sung Dynasty, the Hakka ethnic group has gone through five great migrations on the Chinese mainland. During such migrations, the Hakka absorbed the best of other ethnic groups, and formed their own culture system.

By the 13th century A.D., the Hakka people began to settle in the hills and mountains that border the modern-day provinces of Hunan, Jiangxi. Guangdong and Fujian. The people originally lived there called the new comers 'Hakka', meaning the guest people.

From the 16th century, the Hakka people began to move to Taiwan and then to other Southeast Asian countries, such as Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Hakka people are all over the world now.