Public holiday in the People's Republic of China
National Day
(
Chinese
:
???
;
pinyin
:
guoqing jie
;
lit.
'national celebration day'), officially the
National Day of the People's Republic of China
(
中?人民共和????
), is a
public holiday in China
celebrated annually on 1 October as the
national day
of the
People's Republic of China
, commemorating
Mao Zedong
's formal
proclamation
of the establishment of the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949. The
Chinese Communist Party
victory in the
Chinese Civil War
resulted in the
Kuomintang retreat to Taiwan
and the
Chinese Communist Revolution
whereby the People's Republic of China
replaced
the
Republic of China
.
[1]
[2]
Although it is observed on 1 October, another six days are added to the official holiday, normally in lieu of the two weekend breaks around 1 October, making it a de facto public holiday comprising seven consecutive days also known as
Golden Week
(
?金周
;
huangj?n zh?u
) with specifics regulated by the
State Council
.
[3]
Festivities and concerts are usually held nationwide on this day, with a grand
military parade
and
mass pageant
event held on select years.
[A]
The parade held on 1 October 2019 marked the
70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China
.
History
[
edit
]
The
Chinese Communist Party
(CCP) defeated the incumbent
Kuomintang
(KMT)
nationalist government
of the
Republic of China
in the
Chinese Civil War
that took place from
1927
to
1950
except for a
brief alliance
against
Japan
in the
Second Sino-Japanese War
. In its aftermath, the nationalist government
withdrew
to the
island of Taiwan
, previously a
prefecture of the
Qing Empire
that was ceded to Japan under its
colonial rule
from 1895 to 1945.
The People's Republic of China was founded on 1 October 1949, with a ceremony celebrating the forming of the
Central People's Government
taking place in
Tiananmen Square
in its new national capital of
Peking
(previously Peiping) on the same day that year.
[5]
The first public parade of the new
People's Liberation Army
took place there, following the address by the country's first
Chairman
Mao Zedong
officially declaring the formal establishment of the Republic.
[6]
The
Central People's Government
passed the
Resolution on the National Day of the People's Republic of China
on 3 December 1949, and declared that 1 October is the National Day.
National celebrations
[
edit
]
National Day marks the start of a
Golden Week
, a weeklong public holiday.
[7]
[8]
[9]
The day is celebrated throughout
mainland China
,
Hong Kong
, and
Macau
with a variety of
government
-organized festivities, including fireworks and concerts, as well as sports events and cultural events. Public places, such as Tiananmen Square in
Beijing
, are decorated in a festive theme. Portraits of revered leaders, such as Mao Zedong, are publicly displayed.
[10]
The holiday is also celebrated by many overseas Chinese.
Wreath-laying ceremony at the Monument to the People's Heroes
[
edit
]
From 2004 to 2013, a national wreath-laying ceremony was held on National Day in Tiananmen Square following the flag raising ceremony on years with no parades. The ceremony was centered on the
Monument to the People's Heroes
, built in 1958 in remembrance of the millions of Chinese who perished during the long years of national struggle. Beginning in 2014, they have been held on a new holiday,
Martyrs' Day
, set on the eve of National Day, 30 September, and is presided by
party and state leaders
.
[11]
National flag-raising ceremony
[
edit
]
In some years, a flag-raising ceremony has been held at Tiananmen Square in the morning of the day if no parade is scheduled.
[12]
For many years, the 6 a.m. National Day flag-raising ceremony is the more important act on years without any anniversary parades. Held at the Tiananmen Square, since 2017 the
Beijing Garrison Honor Guard Battalion
's Color Guard Company is present for the ceremony with the National Marching Band of the PLA. Until 2016 the Beijing People's Armed Police units provided men for the ceremonial color guard unit. The ceremony is open to the general public and tourists and is widely televised and streamed online for viewers at home and aboard. At the end of the ceremony, doves are released.
National civil-military parade
[
edit
]
The special civil-military parade of the People's Liberation Army,
People's Armed Police
and the
Militia
together with representatives of the people of all walks of life including the
Young Pioneers of China
is held on special years in the morning of National Day itself. It has since 1984 been televised on China Central Television since 1984 (and broadcast around the world from that year as well via satellite and cable television), is a key highlight of the national celebrations in Beijing.
[13]
The parade was annual from 1950 to 1959 and terminated until 1984.
[14]
There was a parade planned for 1989 but was cancelled following the June 4th crackdown. Parades were held again in 1999 and 2009.
[15]
[16]
[17]
The parade is overseen by the
president of the People's Republic of China
as well as other top leadership.
[17]
Gallery
[
edit
]
-
Tiananmen Square
, 2006 National Day of the PRC. The
placard
reads "Warmly celebrate the 57th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China". The portrait is that of
Sun Yat-sen
.
[18]
-
Military vehicles were shown in the celebration of the 50th anniversary
-
2004 National Day celebration in Tiananmen Square, Beijing
-
2008 National Day celebration in Macau
-
2012 National Day celebration in Hong Kong
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Since the founding of the people's republic to 2009, the country has held 14 National Day grand military parades in 1949?1959, 1984, 1999, and 2009.
[4]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Flag-raising ceremony held for China's National Day celebration"
.
Xinhua News Agency
. 1 October 2009. Archived from
the original
on 4 October 2009
. Retrieved
30 April
2011
.
- ^
Westad, Odd (2003).
Decisive Encounters: The Chinese Civil War, 1946?1950
. Stanford University Press. p.
305
.
ISBN
978-0-8047-4484-3
.
- ^
"??院?公??于2019年部分?假日安排的通知"
[Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Some Holiday Arrangements in 2019]. 4 December 2018.
Archived
from the original on 18 May 2019
. Retrieved
29 September
2019
.
- ^
新中??次大?兵
[New China's previous grand military parades].
gov.cn
.
Xinhua News Agency
. 21 August 2009.
Archived
from the original on 27 December 2009
. Retrieved
26 September
2019
.
- ^
"China National Day: October 1st, Golden Week"
.
travelchinaguide.com
.
Archived
from the original on 20 April 2016
. Retrieved
7 April
2016
.
- ^
"China says National Day parade 'won't disappoint' in scale or weapons"
.
South China Morning Post
. 24 September 2019
. Retrieved
1 October
2022
.
- ^
"China National Day holiday 2018"
.
South China Morning Post
. Retrieved
1 October
2022
.
- ^
"Disappointing start to 'golden week' for Hong Kong retailers"
.
South China Morning Post
. 1 October 2020
. Retrieved
1 October
2022
.
- ^
"Golden Week 2022, 2023 and 2024"
.
PublicHolidays.cn
. Retrieved
1 October
2022
.
- ^
"China celebrates with elaborate display of power and ideology"
.
The Irish Times
. 2 October 2009.
Archived
from the original on 17 October 2012
. Retrieved
30 April
2011
.
- ^
"First national Martyrs' Day remembers those who sacrificed for China"
.
South China Morning Post
. 30 September 2014
. Retrieved
2 October
2022
.
- ^
"National Day celebrated across China"
. Xinhua News Agency. 1 October 2009. Archived from
the original
on 4 March 2016
. Retrieved
30 April
2011
.
- ^
"The history of the People's Republic of China ? through 70 years of mass parades"
. 30 September 2019.
Archived
from the original on 1 October 2019
. Retrieved
8 October
2019
.
- ^
"The history of the People's Republic of China ? through 70 years of mass parades"
.
theconversation.com
. Retrieved
1 October
2022
.
- ^
"1960年至1983年?什??有???兵"
.
Archived
from the original on 8 October 2019
. Retrieved
8 October
2019
.
- ^
Hung, Chang-tai (2007).
"Mao's Parades: State Spectacles in China in the 1950s"
(PDF)
.
The China Quarterly
.
190
(190): 411?431.
doi
:
10.1017/S0305741007001269
.
JSTOR
20192777
.
S2CID
154319855
.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 13 August 2017
. Retrieved
16 October
2019
.
- ^
a
b
Hwang, Yih-Jye; Schneider, Florian (2011).
"Performance, Meaning, and Ideology in the Making of Legitimacy: The Celebrations of the People's Republic of China's Sixty-Year Anniversary"
.
China Review
.
11
(1): 27?55.
ISSN
1680-2012
.
JSTOR
23462196
. Retrieved
2 October
2022
.
- ^
Fu, Ying (16 July 2008).
"China at 60: Nostalgia and progress"
.
The Guardian
.
Archived
from the original on 8 September 2013
. Retrieved
30 April
2011
.
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Golden weeks
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Other holidays
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Sometimes if Mid-Autumn Festival is near National Day, Mid-Autumn Festival may be in the golden week.
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