Chao (Chinese: 巢) was a minor state of the Chinese Bronze Age, whose people belonged to the Shu tribes (群舒, literally "Many Shu") that lived south of the Huai River. Chao's exact location is unknown; traditionally, it was assumed that the state had existed in the vicinity of modern-day Chaohu, Anhui, but more recent sinologists like He Hao and Barry Blakeley consider it more likely that Chao was located further north, near the Huai River.