Academics from the University of Texas and their colleagues in China studied 28 population groups in China and concluded that most - if not all - had their genetic origins in Africa.

They looked at pieces of DNA known as microsatellites, which are short, repeating DNA segments that yield information about genetic variation among people.

The researchers found that all Chinese have a great deal in common genetically, although there are some regional variations.

Mythology holds that the Chinese are descended from a single ancestor
The findings, published by the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, supports what has come to be known as the "Out of Africa theory".

This theory contends that homo sapiens, the modern form of human life, is descended from a population of ancestors who migrated out of Africa about 100,000 years ago.
1998: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_183000/183392.stm