The 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China took place on 1 October 1999. A military parade was held in

Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square (; 天安门广场; Pinyin: ''Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng''; Wade–Giles: ''Tʻien1-an1-mên2 Kuang3-chʻang3'') is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the eponymous Tiananmen (" ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

and various celebrations were conducted all over the country. China's

paramount leader Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important political figure in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA), often hol ...

Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as pres ...

inspected the troops along

Chang'an Avenue 250px, Chang'an Avenue hosts military parades. Here are 1999 National Day parade.">50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China">1999 National Day parade. Chang'an Avenue (), literally "Eternal Peace Street", is a major thoroughfare in ...

in Beijing. This parade was immediately followed by a civilian parade.

Civil-Military Parade

It was the first one to be held since 1984 since the 1989 parade celebrating the 40th anniversary was cancelled due to the

Tiananmen Square protests The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...

. Known as the Chinese Army's Trans-Century Parade due to 1 October 1999 being months away from the turn of the 21st century, it was commanded by the Commander of Beijing Military Region Li Xinliang and inspected by then- Chairman of the Central Military Commission and General Secretary of the CCP

. It was the first time that the sole Chinese leader (who served as party leader, head of state and Commander-in-Chief by this time) had inspected the parade. It was also the first time that the national flag was raised before the parade began. 42 divisions (formations) took part in this parade: 17 from the ground column and 25 from the mobile column.

List of participating divisions

In order of appearance (A bolded unit indicates that this is its first appearance): *

PLA PLA may refer to: Organizations Politics and military * People's Liberation Army, the armed forces of China and of the ruling Chinese Communist Party * People's Liberation Army (disambiguation) ** Irish National Liberation Army, formerly called ...

Beijing Garrison Honor Guard Battalion () * PLA National Defence University Cadets * PLA Ground Force Infantry * PLA Navy Sailors * PLA Marines * PLA Air Force Airman * PLA 15th Airborne Corps * PLA Second Artillery Corps *

People's Armed Police ) , abbreviation = PAP ("People's Armed Police") CAPF ("Chinese Armed Police Force"), formerly abbreviated''Wujing'' ( zh , s = 武警 , p = Wǔjǐng , l = Armed Police , labels = no ), or WJ as on vehicle license plates , patch ...

men *

Female Soldiers * PLA Reserve Service Forces * Female Militiawomen Armored forces and artillery accounted for 70% of the parade while the airborne portion was increased to 10%.

Military bands and parade music

Military bands in attendance

A 1,100 piece band was present for the musical accompaniment to the parade. The bands were organized as follows: *Massed Joint-PLA Military Band under the direction of the Director of Music of the

People's Liberation Army Navy Band The People's Liberation Army Navy Band (Chinese: 中国人民解放军海军军乐团) is the premier military music unit of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and one of the three premier military bands in the People's Republic of Ch ...

, Captain Li Xing ** Central Military Band of the People's Liberation Army of China ***State Trumpeters **

People's Liberation Army Air Force Female Band The People's Liberation Army Air Force Female Band () is a Chinese female amateur military band that is part of the PLA Air Force. The band was established in 1996 as an 8-member marching band. Today, it currently is composed of 56 musicians and ...

People's Armed Police Band The People's Armed Police Band (Chinese: 人民武装警察乐队) is the sole military music unit of the Chinese People's Armed Police (PAP) and one of the four premier military bands in the People's Republic of China. It is currently under the c ...

Women's Military Band of the PLA National Defense University The Women's Military Band of the PLA National Defense University () is a Chinese military band that uniquely consists of only female cadets at the PLA National Defence University, where it serves as the official cadet band. It was established in S ...

Music

In order of performance: * ''Welcome March'' (欢迎进行曲) * ''

March of the Volunteers The "March of the Volunteers" (), originally titled the "March of the Anti-Manchukuo Counter-Japan Volunteers", has been the official national anthem of the People's Republic of China since 1978. Unlike previous Chinese state anthems, it was ...

'' (National Anthem of the People's Republic of China) (义勇军进行曲) * '' Military Anthem of the People's Liberation Army'' (中国人民解放军进行曲) * ''Troops Review March of the PLA (Inspection March of the PLA)'' (检阅进行曲) * ''The People's Army is Loyal to the Party'' (人民军队忠于党) * ''

Three Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention The Three Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention () is a military doctrine that was issued in 1928 by Mao Zedong and his associates for the Chinese Red Army, who were then fighting against the Kuomintang. The contents vary slightly ...

'' (三大纪律八项注意) * '' Military Academy Song'' (军校之歌) * ''A Soldier of the People'' (当兵的人) * ''Parade March of the People's Liberation Army'' (分列式进行曲) * ''March of Armored Vehicles'' (战车进行曲) * ''Song of the Loyal Guards'' (忠诚卫士之歌) * ''March of the Artillery Force'' (炮兵进行曲) * ''People's Navy, Forward'' (人民海军向前进) * ''Rocket Forces March'' * ''March of the PLA Air Force'' (中国空军进行曲)

References

Notes

Videos

Documentary Film: China's 50th National Day Military Parade 1999 PLA August First Film Stu
{{Military Parades of the People's Liberation Army Events in Beijing 1999 in China Anniversaries Military parades in China Military history of the People's Republic of China 1999 in military history October 1999 events in Asia 1990s in Beijing Turn of the third millennium