The Kokang and Wa regions of the Shan State of Myanmar predominantly consist of non-Han tribals of Yunnanese origin, who are to be found on both sides of the Sino-Myanmar border like the Lishus and the Kachins in the Kachin state of Myanmar. This is also the area into which a large number of KMT troops--consisting of Han Chinese as well as non-Han ethnic recruits from Yunnan-- had crossed over after the communists captured power in China. While a large number of them were evacuated to Taiwan in the 1970s, many settled down in the Kokang and Wa areas, married locally and raised families.