China National Day, officially the National Day of the People's Republic of China, is annually celebrated on October 1st to commemorate the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Chinese people enjoy a 7-day holiday from Oct. 1st to 7th. There are usually many activities held around the country, especially in Beijing. It is a peak time for Chinese people to travel at home and abroad. This one-week period is also called "golden week" because it is the biggest week for tourism in China when people have a week off to reunite with families and take trips.

China National Day is celebrated throughout Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and Macau with a variety of activities. Public places are decorated with flags and flowers. Beijing host the biggest celebrations. The highlight of the national celebrations in Beijing is the national civil-military parade. It does not hold annually, and it is now held on a small scale every 5 years and on a large scale every 10 years. And On October 1, there is a special flag raising ceremony at Tian’anmen Square. The square is decorated festively with flags and portraits. Exactly at sunrise, uniformed troops march out to start the flag raising ceremony.

History for China National Day

On October 1, 1949, Chairman Mao Zedong announced the founding of the People’s Republic of China from the Tiananmen Gate. This was hailed as the end of a bitter civil war between the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party under the leadership of Mao. In December 1949, the Chinese government passed the resolution on the National Day of the People’s Republic of China, making October 1 the National Day of China.

From 1950 to 1959, grand rallies were held to celebrate this day of national importance. In 1960, the Communist Party and the State Council decided to abide by communist principles and make the celebrations simpler and more personal. From 1960 until 1970, mass rallies were still held in Tiananmen Square, but military parades were canceled. From 1971 to 1983, visiting parks and other galas were organized to replace mass rallies and military parades. Grand celebrations have been rarely held since then. However, the exceptions were 1984 and 1999 to commemorate the 35th anniversary and 50th anniversary of the founding of the party, respectively.