The People's Republic of China (PRC) observes its anniversary on October 1st. China's National Day (国庆节) has been celebrated in various ways during the history of the PRC.
In China, the holiday is officially three days, but the holidays are usually extended by bridge holidays compensated by working on weekends depending on how the holiday falls in the week. This creates a so-called 'Golden Week' of holidays. This makes it the second-largest holiday period in China. This approach was introduced in 2000 to help boost domestic tourism and to allow families to make long journeys to visit relatives, though unlike most Chinese holidays, National Day doesn't come with any obligations to visit your family.
In 2019, about 782 million people travelled during the National Day holiday, with 30.5% doing so by car, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
History of Chinese National Day
On October 1st 1949 Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China from atop Beijing's Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tian'anmen Gate).
This marked 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, declaring that October 1st is the National Day of China.
From 1950 - 1959, grand rallies and massive military parades were held to mark the National Day.
In 1960, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council decided to simplify the celebration, according to the principle of building up the country through hard work and frugality.
From 1960 until 1970, mass rallies were still held in Tian'anmen Square, though military parades were cancelled.
From 1971 to 1983, visiting parks and other galas replaced mass rallies and military parades.
Grand celebrations have been rarely held since then, except for the mass rallies and military parades in 1984 and 1999 to commemorate the 35th anniversary and 50th anniversary of the founding of the PRC.
Most people believe that countries' national days are of crucial cultural importance, acting as symbols of independent states and reflecting a country's government system.
Did you know?
Three facts about Chinese National Day
One-third of the population of China can't speak Mandarin, the country's official language.
The Great Wall of China is 13,170 miles long. It was built by one million laborers 2,200 years ago. 400,000 of those workers died while making it and their bodies were buried inside the wall. It's so long that it covers three countries - China, North Korea and Mongolia.
China is the world's largest consumer of red wine.
