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10th anniversary of the People's Republic of China

Coordinates: 39°54′26.4″N 116°23′27.9″E / 39.907333°N 116.391083°E / 39.907333; 116.391083
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The 10th Anniversary of the Founding of The People’s Republic of China
庆祝中华人民共和国成立10周年大会
GenreMilitary parade, mass pageant, music and dance gala
Date(s)1 October 1959
FrequencySelect years[A]
Location(s)Chang'an Avenue, Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China
Coordinates39°54′26.4″N 116°23′27.9″E / 39.907333°N 116.391083°E / 39.907333; 116.391083
Years active75
Inaugurated1 October 1949 (1949-10-01)
ParticipantsPLA, PAP, the Militia, and other formations
LeaderMao Zedong (chairman)
PeopleYang Yong (chief commander of the military parade)

The 10th anniversary celebrations of founding of the People's Republic of China were held on 1 October 1959. The main event was held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. A grand banquet with many international dignitaries had been organized on the preceding evening.[2]

Celebrations in Beijing
Tank columns on Chang'an Avenue.
Anti-aircraft guns in the military parade before the Great Hall of the People.

Celebrations in Beijing

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Defense Minister Lin Biao surveys the troops in Tiananmen Square.

28–29 September celebratory meeting

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On 28 and 29 September 1959 a meeting of more than 10,000 people was held in the Great Hall of the People. Chairman Mao Zedong and President Liu Shaoqi were present at the dias. President Liu Shaoqi held a keynote speech at the meeting. Prominent international guests at the event included Ho Chi Minh, Mikhail Suslov, Emil Bodnăraș, Hermann Matern, Mehmet Shehu, Dimitar Ganev, István Dobi, Aleksander Zawadzki, Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal, Kim Il Sung and Antonín Novotný.[2]

30 September banquet

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On the evening of 30 September 1959, a jubilee banquet was hosted in the Great Hall of the People. Around 5,000 people attended the banquet, including guests from around 80 countries. Mao Zedong and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev entered the hall together, meeting applause. Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and Soviet Premier Khrushchev presented their greetings at the banquet. The Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko also participated in the banquet.[2]

Khrushchev had arrived directly from a visit to the United States on the same day. He held a short speech upon his arrival at the airport.[2]

1 October Tiananmen Square parade

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According to Chinese media, the Tiananmen Square event gathered 700,000 people. At Tiananmen Square participants formed a human version of the national emblem of the People's Republic with the numerals '1949' and '1959' on the sides. A band of one thousand musicians with brass instruments and olive-green uniforms opened the event, playing The East is Red at 09.45. At this point Mao Zedong and Nikita Khrushchev entered the dias. Other dignitaries on the dias included Liu Shaoqi, Soong Ching-ling, Lin Biao, Zhu De, Dong Biwu, Deng Xiaoping and various international guests.[2]

Celebrations in other cities
Shanghai
Guangzhou
Shenyang
Wuhan
Yinchuan
Chongqing.

The mayor of Peking, Peng Zhen, declared the ceremony open at 10.00. The national anthem was played and a delegation of 400 Young Pioneers presented a floral tribute at the People's Heroes Monument.[2]

After a speech by Defense Minister Lin Biao, a military parade began, followed by a parade of workers, peasants, students and athletes.[2]

International delegations at the main events in Beijing

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At the 30 September banquet, a number of international delegations assisted, representing communist and workers parties and governments.[3]

State delegations

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Country Name Position
 Afghanistan Ghulam Mohammed Sherzad Minister of Commerce
 Albania Mehmet Shehu Prime Minister of Albania
Algeria Benyoucef Benkhedda Minister of Social Welfare
 Bulgaria Dimitar Ganev Chairman of the Presidium of the National Assembly
Burma U Chit Thaung Minister of Culture
 Czechoslovakia Antonín Novotný President of Czechoslovakia
 East Germany Hermann Matern Chairman of the Central Party Control Commission of the Socialist Unity Party
 Guinea Diawadou Barry Minister of Education
 Hungary István Dobi Chairman of the Presidential Council
 Iraq Ahmad Muhammed Yahia Minister for Internal Affairs
 Nepal Dr. Tulsi Giri Minister for Village Development
 North Korea Kim Il Sung Premier of North Korea
Kim Kwang Hyup Minister of People's Armed Forces
 Mongolia Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal Chairman of the Council of Ministers
 Poland Aleksander Zawadzki Chairman of the State Council
 Romania Emil Bodnăraș First Vice President of the Council of Ministers
 Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev Premier of the Soviet Union
Mikhail Suslov Secretary of Ideology of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Sudan A. M. Gubara Registrar of the University of Khartoum
 North Vietnam Ho Chi Minh President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam
Võ Nguyên Giáp Commander-in-Chief of the People's Army of Vietnam
Yemen Sayed Ali Al-Muyyad Minister of State

International organizations

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Organization Name Position
World Federation of Trade Unions Sugiri Secretariat Member
World Peace Council John Desmond Bernal, Executive President
Women's International Democratic Federation Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier Vice President
World Federation of Democratic Youth Christian Echard General Secretary
Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organisation Youssef El-Sebai General Secretary
International Union of Students Jiří Pelikán President
International Association of Democratic Lawyers Denis Nowell Pritt President

Party delegations

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Other commemorations

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In Beijing, ten "great buildings" were constructed ahead of the celebrations. The most prominent of the ten was the Great Hall of the People.[4] On 26 September 1959, just a few days ahead of the anniversary, oil was discovered at Datongzhen.[5] Datong Town and the oilfields were renamed 'Daqing' ('Great Celebration'), in reference to the tenth anniversary celebrations.[5][6] Major parades were also organized in Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Xi'an, Wuhan, Shenyang and Tianjin.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ 新中国历次大阅兵 [New China's previous grand military parades]. Chinese government web. Xinhua News Agency. 21 August 2009. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Peking Review. National Day, 1959. 6 October 1959. No. 40. pp. 4–6
  3. ^ Peking Review. Guests of Honour Present at the Banquet. 6 October 1959. No. 40. pp. 11–12
  4. ^ Lin, Xiaoping. Children of Marx and Coca-Cola: Chinese Avant-Garde Art and Independent Cinema. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2010. p. 52
  5. ^ a b Marius Vassiliou, The A to Z of the Petroleum Industry. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press, 2009. p. 152
  6. ^ People's Republic of China year-book, Vol. 29. 2009. p. 613
  1. ^ Since the founding of the people's republic until 2009, the country has held 14 National Day grand military parades in 1949–1959, 1984, 1999, and 2009.[1]
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