The 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China took place on 1 October 2009. A

military parade A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the lat ...

involving 10,000 troops and the display of many high-tech weapons 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 ...

Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, an ...

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 involving 100,000 participants.

Background

The People's Republic of China was founded on 1 October 1949. Since then, celebrations of varying scales occur on National Day each year.

Military parade A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the lat ...

s, presided over by CCP Chairman

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

, were held every year between 1949 and 1959. In September 1960, the Chinese leadership decided that in order to save funds and "be frugal", large-scale ceremonies for National Day would only be held every ten years, with a smaller-scale ceremony every five years. The last large-scale celebration during the Mao era was in 1969. Large-scale celebrations did not take place for 14 years amidst the climax of the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

. Since then, the most prominent National Day celebrations have taken place in 1984 and 1999, at the 35th and 50th anniversaries respectively. During these celebrations, then-

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...

and

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 ...

reviewed military parades of the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

. The 2009 parade was the first and last time

oversaw this task, as he left office of

General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party The general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party () is the head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Since 1989, the CCP general secretary has been the paramount leader o ...

(paramount leader) in 2012 due to

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

Preparations

40 million potted flowers, supplied by the state-owned Beijing Flowers & Trees Corp., were put in place in Beijing streets, approximately 5 million of which have been planted along the east–west axis of

, also known as 'Avenue of Eternal Peace'. Flowers in Tiananmen Square were under 24-hour surveillance; Beijing Jinggong Red Flag factory is producing 2 million national flags for the celebrations. In Tiananmen Square itself, 56 "pillars of national unity" – each one symbolizing the 56 ethnic groups in China – were erected, with each containing fireworks for the night event on 1 October. 800,000 volunteers controlled crowds and maintained order while a further 30,000 provided translation services at subway and bus stations. Mosquitoes, rats, flies, and cockroaches were the targets of professional exterminators – four unannounced night-time sweeps were carried out around

in Beijing, including in the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is a Chinese palace, palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples includ ...

complex. The public was encouraged to support the eradication through red slogan banners along Beijing streets and alleys, in what ''The Times'' said was reminiscent of the

Four Pests campaign The Four Pests campaign (), was one of the first actions taken in the Great Leap Forward in China from 1958 to 1962. The four pests to be eliminated were rats, flies, mosquitoes, and sparrows. The extermination of sparrows is also known as the ...

. One of these slogans read: "Eradicate the four pests, stress hygiene. Cleanly, cleanly welcome National Day!" Tiananmen Square was sealed off for the day on 29 August for the first rehearsals. Tens of thousands of fully costumed performers rehearsed on 16 September. The military also prepared, with several hundred vehicles rolling down Chang'an Avenue on 6 September. parts of Beijing were closed down on 18 September for the final rehearsals of the anniversary parade. Police cleared streets and office buildings on the main roadways near Tiananmen Square from noon onwards for rehearsals that evening. State media went into overdrive, for example, highlighting how thousands of troops spent four months drilling to march in step on a mock practice ground with scale model of Chang'an Avenue - complete with the leadership reviewing stand. Following disruptions caused by the drills, which shut down roads and large parts of the

Beijing Subway The Beijing Subway is the rapid transit system of Beijing Municipality that consists of 25 lines including 20 rapid transit lines, two airport rail links, one maglev line and 2 light rail lines, and 463 stations. The rail network extends acro ...

, ''

Xinhua News Agency Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...

'' announced that the final rehearsal parade, scheduled for 26 September, was called off.

Security

''The Sunday Times'' reported that "thousands of agents will stage a security clampdown exceeding anything seen for the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

". Police in Beijing and neighbouring provinces were in a heightened state of readiness, with night patrols by armed police lasting from 15 September until the end of the festivities. All basements in the city were subject to inspection by police, while some restaurants with roof terraces were not permitted to seat patrons on sides overlooking the street for the duration. However, despite the supposed high alert around Beijing, a man armed with a knife killed two people and injured 12 in the heart of Beijing on 17 September. Peter Ford of ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

'' said that the stabbing incident had been played down locally. Following the attacks, however, the knives were removed from sale at some stores such as

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

and

Carrefour Carrefour () is a French multinational retail and wholesaling corporation headquartered in Massy, France. The eighth-largest retailer in the world by revenue, it operates a chain of hypermarkets, groceries stores and convenience stores, which ...

. Thousands of paramilitary officers were deployed at bridges, road tunnels and other strategic points in the city. Residents were warned that if they stepped out onto balconies along the route, they might be shot. 30,000 people with tickets have been invited to watch the event, but others were encouraged to watch it on television to "avoid complications." ''The Times'' says the authorities engaged counter-terrorist units and informers in districts where Xinjiang Muslims live, placed Tibetan Buddhists under surveillance, and arrested dissidents. Peasants coming to the capital to present their grievances as petitions were blocked. while the government ordered the search of all cars entering Beijing. The security drives organised by the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing, as well as neighbouring

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

and

Shanxi province Shanxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is ...

s, the

Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

and the

Tianjin Municipality Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popula ...

was dubbed a "Security Moat" by a senior official. The official said the "safety of China's National Day celebrations and stability in Beijing was of overriding importance." ''The Times'' reported Internet users saying

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

has been tightened: many sites have been blocked, among them Facebook and Twitter; one media analyst said that the authorities upgraded their technology to block free proxy services and were trying to block any free proxy services and

VPNs A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network and enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. The be ...

during the week prior to the anniversary. Other security arrangements in place included relocation of mailboxes and newspaper stands along

and the closure or restricted opening of some of the hotels along the route (ex. the

Beijing Hotel The Beijing Hotel () is a five-star state-owned hotel complex in the Dongcheng District of Beijing, China. It is located at the southern end of Wangfujing Street, at the corner with East Chang'an Avenue, 1.5 km from Beijing railway station ...

, the Beijing News Plaza Hotel, and the

Beijing International Hotel } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country ...

). Other hotels on Chang'an Avenue closed guest rooms facing the main road during the celebrations.

Media

The government established a media centre from 22 September until 2 October at the Media Center Hotel catering for journalists covering celebrations. The centre's deputy, Zhu Shouchen, said they received applications from more than 4,500 journalists around the world, including some 1,300 journalists from 346 media organisations in 108 countries. Almost 400 of them were said to be from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. A film entitled ''

The Founding of a Republic ''The Founding of a Republic'' is a Chinese historical drama produced in 2009 to mark the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China and was made to portray the final years of the Chinese Communist Revolution that followed the end of the ...

'', commissioned by China's film regulator and made by the

China Film Group China Film Group Corporation (CFGC), is the largest, most influential film enterprise in the People's Republic of China, owned by the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party. According to ''Forbes'', it is a state monopoly that all ...

(CFG) to mark the anniversary, was released nationwide on 17 September. The film retells the tale of the Communist ascendancy and triumph, with a star-studded cast including

Zhang Ziyi Zhang Ziyi (; ; born 9 February 1979) is a Chinese actress and model. She is regarded as one of the Four Dan Actresses of China. Her first major role was in '' The Road Home'' (1999). She later gained international recognition for her role in ...

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

Jet Li Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, Chinese martial arts, martial artist, and retired wushu (sport), Wushu champion. He is a naturalized Singapo ...

, and directors

Jiang Wen Jiang Wen (born 5 January 1963) is a Chinese actor, screenwriter, and director. As a director, he is sometimes grouped with the "Sixth Generation" that emerged in the 1990s. Jiang is also well known internationally as an actor, having starred wit ...

Chen Kaige Chen Kaige (; born 12 August 1952) is a Chinese film director and a leading figure of the fifth generation of Chinese cinema.Berry, Michael (2002). "Chen Kaige: Historical Revolution and Cinematic Rebellion" in Speaking in Images: Interviews wit ...

and

John Woo John Woo Yu-Sen SBS (; born September 22, 1946) is a Hong Kong filmmaker, known as a highly-influential figure in the action film genre. He was a pioneer of heroic bloodshed films (a crime action film genre involving Chinese triads) and the gun fu ...

in mostly cameos appearances; the leading roles – such as Mao Zedong – were played by lesser known actors. CFG chairman

Han Sanping Han Sanping (born 1 October 1953) is a Chinese film producer and distributor. Until 2014, he served as the chairman of the State-owned enterprise, state-owned China Film Group Corporation, which is one of the largest distributors and exporters of ...

co-directed the film with

Huang Jianxin Huang Jianxin (born 14 June 1954) is a Chinese filmmaker. He also writes film scripts under the pen name Huang Xin. He is normally considered part of the fifth generation of Chinese filmmakers (a group that includes Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou and Ti ...

. A CFG spokesman said many stars answered Han's call to appear in the film and waived their fee, helping it keep its modest budget of 60–70 million yuan (US$8.8–$10 million). According to the executive at one of China's top multiplex chains, the film unusually married "the core of an 'ethically inspiring' film" – code for propaganda films, according to the Associated Press – "with commercial packaging."

Parades

Self-propelled howitzer in front of Gucci

Leaders

Liu Qi, as the Beijing municipal

Communist Party Secretary A Party Committee Secretary () is the leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organization in a province, city, village, or other administrative unit. In most cases, it is the ''de facto'' highest political office of its area of jurisdictio ...

, was the master of ceremonies for the event. Hu Jintao, in his position as the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, President of the People's Republic, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, presided over the military parade. In addition, all members of the

Politburo Standing Committee The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Histori ...

at the time, along with the former leader Jiang Zemin, stood atop

Tiananmen The Tiananmen (also Tian'anmen (天安门), Tienanmen, T’ien-an Men; ), or the Gate of Heaven-Sent Pacification, is a monumental gate in the city center of Beijing, China, the front gate of the Imperial City of Beijing, located near the ci ...

in protocol order for the entire duration of the parade. Other prominent retired leaders, including former Premiers

Li Peng Li Peng (; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Chi ...

and

Zhu Rongji Zhu Rongji (; IPA: ; born 23 October 1928) is a retired Chinese politician who served as Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1998 to 2003 and CCP Politburo Standing Committee member from 1992 to 2002 along with the Chinese Communist ...

, and former Vice-president

Zeng Qinghong Zeng Qinghong (born 30 July 1939) is a retired Chinese politician. He was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, China's highest leadership council, and top-ranked member of the Secretariat of the Central ...

were also in attendance.

Military parade

HQ-9 at the China's 60th anniversary parade

The military parade took place on Chang'an Avenue, with the country's leaders watching the parade from Tiananmen, above Mao's portrait. Hu Jintao inspected the troops standing onto a Hongqi HQE limousine designed for the event, with a special license plate ( 京V 02009). For the anniversary, the Chinese government budgeted roughly $44 million for the military parade, with some budget cuts due to the recent global financial crisis. The parade displayed 52 new types of military hardware, including ZTZ99 main battle tanks, J-10 fighter aircraft,

KJ-200 The KJ-200 (Chinese: 空警-200; pinyin: Kōngjǐng Liǎngbǎi; literally: "Airwarn-200") NATO reporting name: Moth or Y-8 Balance Beam system, is an Airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) program developed by Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation. ...

and

KJ-2000 The KJ-2000 (), NATO reporting name: Mainring is a People's Republic of China, Chinese Airborne early warning and control system comprising domestically designed electronics and radars installed on a modified Ilyushin Il-76 airframe. Development ...

early-warning aircraft, Z-9W

attack helicopter An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their heavy armament they ...

s, and new models of the Type 95 and Type 03 assault rifles. The five new types of missiles were paraded by the Second Artillery Corps. The Second Artillery's display included a total of 108 missiles and was intended to showcase China's strategic deterrence capabilities.

List of participating divisions in the parade

In order of 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 ...

Combined

Guard of honour A guard of honour ( GB), also honor guard ( US), also ceremonial guard, is a group of people, usually military in nature, appointed to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, or to attend at state ceremonials, ...

(Chinese: 中国人民解放军三军仪仗队) *

PLA Ground Force The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF; ) is the land-based service branch of the People's Liberation Army and the largest and oldest branch of the entire Chinese armed forces. The PLAGF can trace its lineage from 1927 as the Chine ...

Cadet Officers Square Formation (Chinese: 陆军学员方队) *

Infantry Square Formation (Chinese: 陆军步兵方队) *

Special Forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

Square Formation (Chinese: 陆军特种部队方队) *

PLA Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN; ), also known as the People's Navy, Chinese Navy, or PLA Navy, is the maritime service branch of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAN traces its lineage to naval units fighting during the Chines ...

Cadet Officers Square Formation (Chinese: 海军学员方队) *

Seamen Square Formation (Chinese: 海军水兵方队) *

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

Square Formation (Chinese: 海军陆战队方队) *

PLA Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the Peo ...

Cadet Officers Square Formation (Chinese: 空军飞行学员方队) *

Paratroopers A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Worl ...

Square Formation (Chinese: 空军空降兵方队) *

Second Artillery Corps Cadets Square Formation (Chinese: 第二炮兵学员方队) *

Female Soldiers Square Formation (Chinese: 三军女兵方队) *

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 ...

Square Formation (Chinese: 武警方队) * PLA Reserve Service Forces Square Formation (Chinese: 预备役方队) * Female Militia Square Formation (Chinese: 女民兵方队)

List of military vehicles paraded

Chinese official state media states that all equipment displayed in the parade are manufactured in China, with 90% of them first displayed to the public. The equipment are listed in the order of appearance, with new appearances in bold: * ZTZ99 main battle tank * ZTZ96A main battle tank * ZBD2000 amphibious fighting vehicle * ZBD-97 infantry fighting vehicle *ZBL-08/09 infantry fighting vehicle *ZLC2000 airborne infantry fighting vehicle * ZSL-92 anti-riot infantry fighting vehicle * Type 05 155mm self-propelled howitzer * Type 07 122mm self-propelled howitzer *

PLL-05 The PLL-05 is a Chinese self-propelled gun-mortar in use by Chinese mechanised infantry formations. Conceptually it is similar to the Russian 2S23 "Nona-SVK" (the turret and weapon system of the 2S9 Nona mounted on a BTR-80 chassis) three of whi ...

120mm self-propelled mortar-howitzer *PTL02 100mm

tank destroyer A tank destroyer, tank hunter, tank killer, or self-propelled anti-tank gun is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, armed with a direct fire artillery gun or missile launcher, designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks, often wi ...

* PHL03 300mm multiple launch rocket system * HJ-9 anti-tank missile system * Type 95 self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery * HQ-7 surface-to-air missile * HQ-16 surface-to-air missile * YJ-83 anti-ship missile * YJ-62 shore to ship cruise missile * HQ-9 surface-to-air missile * HQ-12 surface-to-air missile *ASN series tactical unmanned aerial drones * DF-15 short range ballistic missile * DF-11 short range ballistic missile * CJ-10 land attack cruise missile * DF-21 medium range ballistic missile * DF-31 intercontinental ballistic missile * DF-31A intercontinental ballistic missile * KJ-2000 early warning aircraft * KJ-200 early warning aircraft * Xian H-6 bomber and tanker **along with newer Xian H-6K variant * JH-7A fighter-bomber * J-8F interceptor fighter * Chengdu J-10 multirole fighter * Shenyang J-11 multirole fighter * Changhe Z-8 transport helicopter * Harbin Z-9W attack helicopter * Hongdu JL-8 jet trainer aircraft * Type 022 stealth missile boat *

Type 052C destroyer The Type 052C destroyer (NATO/Office of the Secretary of Defense, OSD Luyang II-class destroyer) is a ship class, class of guided-missile destroyers in the China, Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force (PLAN). The Type 052C introduc ...

Type 054A frigate The Type 054A (NATO/ OSD Jiangkai II) is a class of guided-missile frigate from the People's Republic of China. It is a development of the Type 054 frigate; compared to its predecessor, the Type 054A has medium-range air defense capability in th ...

Grand pageant (Mass pageant)

Sixty floats showcasing themes such as "progress of the motherland", "scientific development", "brilliant achievement", and "beautiful prosperous China" passed by Tiananmen Square. Dozens of floats were surrounded by groups of either 1,949 or 2,009 marchers, with the total number of people marching in the parade being over one hundred thousand. One float had a giant portrait of Mao Zedong, which was immediately followed by similar floats with equally large portraits of Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, and Hu Jintao. On each of these portraits were inscribed slogans of each leader's signature ideologies:

Mao Zedong Thought Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Chi ...

Deng Xiaoping Theory Deng Xiaoping Theory ( zh, s=邓小平理论, p=Dèng Xiǎopíng Lǐlùn), also known as Dengism, is the series of political and economic ideologies first developed by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. The theory does not reject Marxism–Leninism ...

, the

Three Represents The Three Represents or the important thought of Three Represents is a guiding socio-political theory within China credited to then-general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Jiang Zemin, which was ratified at the Sixteenth Party ...

, and the

Scientific Development Concept The Scientific Outlook on Development (), sometimes translated to either the scientific development concept, or as the scientific development perspective, is one of the guiding socio-economic principles of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). T ...

. Voice recordings of each leader were also played through loudspeakers. A float with 181 foreigners from 53 countries named "One World" also took part.

List of floats

*Prelude **The Guard of Honor **National Emblem Square Array *Section One: Struggling and Initiating **"Struggling in Blood" Formation **"Founding of New China" Formation **Mao Zedong Thought Formation *Section Two: Reforming and Opening up **Deng Xiaoping Thought Formation *Section Three: Into the New Century **Into the New Century *Section Four: China as A Rising Power **Scientific Development Concept

List of card sequence slogans

* 国庆 National Anniversary *

National Emblem of the People's Republic of China The National Emblem of the People's Republic of China contains in a red circle a representation of Tiananmen Gate, the entrance gate to the Forbidden City, where Mao Zedong declared the foundation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 19 ...

with 1949 and 2009 * National Flag of the People's Republic of China * Flag of the

Chinese People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the China, People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five Military branch, service branches: the People's ...

Great Wall The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand Li (unit), ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against Eurasian noma ...

* 中华人民共和国万岁 (

Long live ''Viva'', ''vive'', and ''vivat'' are interjections used in the Romance languages. ''Viva'' in Spanish (plural ), Portuguese, and Italian (Also . in plural is rare), ''Vive'' in French, and ''Vivat'' in Latin (plural ) are subjunctive forms ...

the People's Republic of China) * 中国共产党万岁 (Long live the

Communist Party of China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

) * 人民万岁 (Long live the people) * 听党指挥 (Submit to rule of the Party) * 服务人民 (

Serve the People "Serve the People" () is a political slogan which first appeared in Mao-era China, and the motto of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It originates from the title of a speech by Mao Zedong, delivered on 8 September 1944. The slogan also becam ...

) * 英勇善战 (Be brave and worthy in war) * 忠诚于党 (Loyal to the Party) * 热爱人民 (Love the people) * 报效国家 (Serve the country) * 献身使命 (Devote to our mission) * 崇尚荣誉 (Honor our glory) *

Dove of peace Doves, typically domestic pigeons white in plumage, are used in many settings as symbols of peace, freedom, or love. Doves appear in the symbolism of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and paganism, and of both military and pacifist groups. Mytho ...

* 向人民英雄致敬 (Salute the people's heroes) * 社会主义好 ( Socialism is Good) * 解放思想 (Liberate thoughts) * 改革开放 (

Reform and opening-up The Chinese economic reform or reform and opening-up (), known in the West as the opening of China, is the program of economic reforms termed "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" and "socialist market economy" in the People's Republic of Ch ...

) * 世纪跨越 (Turn of the century) * 与时俱进 (

Keep pace with the times A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

) * 科学发展 ( Scientific Development) *社会和谐 (

Socialist Harmonious society The Harmonious Society (; also known as Socialist Harmonious Society) is a socioeconomic concept in China that is recognized as a response to the increasing alleged social injustice and inequality emerging in mainland Chinese society as a result ...

) * 1949 * 2009 *祖国万岁 (Long live the

motherland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethni ...

) * Wheat wave * 科教兴国 (Science and education strengthens the nation) *

Peony The peony or paeony is a flowering plant in the genus ''Paeonia'' , the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae . Peonies are native to Asia, Europe and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguished, ...

* Logos for Beijing 2008

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

and

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

* 万众一心众志成城(Unite as one to overcome difficulties) * 维护世界和平 (Uphold world peace) * 各族人民大团结万岁 (Long live the

great unity The Great Unity () is a Chinese utopian vision of the world in which everyone and everything is at peace. It is found in classical Chinese philosophy which has been invoked many times in the modern history of China. History The notion of the " ...

of the people of (Chinese) ethnic groups) * 繁荣昌盛 (Prosperity) * ''国画《江山如此多娇》 * 富强民主文明和谐 (Prosperous and strong, democratic, culturally-developed and harmonious) * 时刻准备着 (Constantly prepared) * 明天会更好 (Tomorrow will be better)

Music

;Flag raising, military parade, drive-by, and flyby # ''Welcome March'' () # ''

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) () # ''

Military Anthem of the People's Liberation Army The Military Anthem of the People's Liberation Army (), also known as the March of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (), is a patriotic song of the People's Republic of China. The song was written by Zhang Yongnian and composed by Zheng Lüc ...

'' () # ''Troops Review March of the PLA (Inspection March of the PLA)'' () # ''The People's Army is Loyal to the Party'' () # '' Military Academy Song'' () # ''Duty'' () # ''A Moment to Prepare'' () # ''Servicemen'' () # ''Parade March of the People's Liberation Army'' () # ''Motherland, Please Review'' () # ''March of Armored Vehicles'' () # ''Song of the Loyal Guards'' () # ''March of the Artillery Force'' () # ''People's Navy, Forward'' () # ''Military Might March'' () # ''March of the Second Artillery Corps'' () # ''March of the PLA Air Force'' () # ''I Love the Motherland's Blue Skies'' () ;Civilian parade # ''Ode to the Red Flag'' # '' The East Is Red'' () # ''

Without the Communist Party, There Would Be No New China "Without the Communist Party, There Would Be No New China" is a Chinese patriotic song in the People's Republic of China, which originated in 1943 in response to the phrase, "Without the Kuomintang there would be no China". Background During ...

'' () # ''Red Banner Hymn'' ( 红旗颂) # ''

Story of Spring "The Story of Spring" () is a patriotic Chinese song praising Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, although it never mentions him by name. Originally sung by famous Chinese folk singer Dong Wenhua, Deng is referred to as "an old man" throughout the song. ...

'' () # ''Youth, Oh, Youth'' () # ''Into the New Era'' () # ''Song of the Yangtze'' ( 长江之歌) # ''Rivers and Mountains'' () # ''Today is your Birthday (My China)'' () # ''On the Field of Hope'' () # ''We Workers Have Strength'' () # ''Toast Song'' () # ''The Red Flag Flutters'' () # '' You and Me'' () # ''Melody of Welcome Greeting'' () # ''Love My China'' ( 爱我中华) # ''China Navigates'' () # ''Walking towards Rejuvenation'' () # ''Anthem of the Young Pioneers of China'' () # ''Songs and Smiles'' () # ''

Ode to the Motherland "Ode to the Motherland" () is a patriotic song of the People's Republic of China, written and music composed by Wang Shen (; 26 October 1918–October 15, 2007) during the period immediately after the founding of the People's Republic of China ( ...

'' ()

Broadcast

China Central Television China Central Television (CCTV) is a Chinese state- and political party-owned broadcaster controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its 50 different channels broadcast a variety of programing to more than one billion viewers in six lan ...

was responsible for the live broadcast of the National Day celebrations and military parade, from 8:00 am ( CST) to noon, on

CCTV-1 CCTV-1 (CCTV General Channel) is the primary channel of CCTV, the national flagship terrestrial television network of the People's Republic of China. It broadcasts a range of programs from CCTV Headquarters at East 3rd Ring Road in Beijing and ...

CCTV-3 CCTV-3 is the art focused channel of the CCTV (China Central Television) Network in the People's Republic of China. This channel is based mainly on dance and music broadcast since November 30, 1995. CCTV-3 is the channel which have a creative bou ...

CCTV-4 CCTV-4 is a Chinese free-to-air television channel. It is one of six China Central Television channels that broadcasts outside the People's Republic of China. This channel contains a variety of programs including documentaries, music, news, dr ...

CCTV-7 CCTV-7 is a Chinese free-to-air television channel owned by China Central Television. The channel primarily carries programming devoted to the People's Liberation Army. Prior to 1 August 2019, the channel also carried agriculture-related programm ...

CCTV-10 CCTV-10 is the science and education focused channel of the China Central Television (CCTV) network in the People's Republic of China. Its schedule includes mostly local and imported documentaries, as well as educational studio productions. Pr ...

, CCTV-12, CCTV News Channel, CCTV-HD and CCTV Music Channel, as well as in other languages (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, French,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

on each of their respective language international channels), both on TV and online.

CCTV-9 CCTV-9 is a television channel operated by Chinese state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), broadcasting documentaries in Mandarin Chinese. It shared the name with CCTV's English language English is a West Germanic language of ...

(English) rebroadcast the celebrations at 16:00, 24:00, and 7:00 (2 October).

China National Radio China National Radio (CNR; ; pronunciation: ) is the national radio network of China, headquartered in Beijing. History The infrastructure began with a transmitter from Moscow to set up its first station in Yan'an (延安). It used the call ...

provided live audio coverage throughout

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

on CNR channels 1, 2, 3, 4, and 9; the Hong Kong and

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

region on CNR channel 7; and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

on CNR channel 5.

National Day Evening Gala

On the evening of 1 October, from 20:00 to 22:00, a music concert of 28 patriotic Chinese songs was performed with hundreds of dancers in Tiananmen Square, with a series of massive fireworks displays overhead. Early media reports earlier predicted that the fireworks presentation would be "double the firepower of the 2008 Olympics opening ceremony". CCTV viewers and Internet users around the world were also both able to watch the live broadcast of the gala.

Songs

;Prelude: My Motherland ;Chapter One: Great Motherland # ''I Love China'' # ''Our Motherland Is A Garden'' # ''Paean'' # ''Xinjiang Is A Good Place'' # ''Emancipated Serfs Sing Proudly'' # ''Bellflower Song'' # ''Flower and Youth'' # ''Folk Songs Are Like The Spring Water'' # ''A-Li Mountain Girls'' # ''Our Motherland Is A Garden'' (slightly different; repeated as a closing to the chapter) ;Chapter Two: Our Birth Place # ''Today Is Your Birthday'' # ''On The Land of Hope'' # ''China March'' # ''The New Look of Our Motherland'' # ''A Toast Song'' # ''Good Days'' ;Chapter Three: On This Vast Land # ''Proud Builders'' # ''Youthful China'' # ''Let's Swing Our Oars'' # ''Great China'' # ''Young Friends Get Together'' # ''Meeting Twenty Years Later'' ;Chapter Four: Sunshine Everywhere # ''The Sunny Way'' # ''Road To Rejuvenation'' # ''Waltz of Youth And Friendship'' # ''Ode to the Motherland'' # ''Firmly We Hold Our Hands''* # ''Country And Home''* (" * " denotes a translation of the song's title different from the officially provided CCTV title)

Commemorative coins and stamps

Three types of gold coins and two types of silver coins were issued by the

People's Bank of China The People's Bank of China (officially PBC or informally PBOC; ) is the central bank of the People's Republic of China, responsible for carrying out monetary policy and regulation of financial institutions in mainland China, as determined by ...

on 16 September to commemorate the anniversary. A total of 60,700 gold coins with

face value The face value, sometimes called nominal value, is the value of a coin, bond, stamp or paper money as printed on the coin, stamp or bill itself by the issuing authority. The face value of coins, stamps, or bill is usually its legal value. Howe ...

s of

CN¥ The renminbi (; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China and one of the world's most traded currencies, ranking as the fifth most traded currency in the world as of April 2022. ...

10,000, 2,000 yuan, and 100 yuan were issued, while a total of 106,000 silver coins with the face values of 300 and 10 yuan issued. All the coins, produced by Shenzhen Guobao Mint and

Shenyang Mint Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...

, and distributed by the China Gold Coin Incorporation, are legal tender. The obverse of the coins features China's national emblem, set in a frieze of peonies. The reverse includes various designs including a rocket, a satellite, a high-speed train, and the Beijing Olympic Stadium. Other forms will show designs of an open gate, a bridge, or urban construction. They bear Chinese characters saying: "In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, 1949–2009." On 20 October 2009, the

China National Philatelic Corporation The China National Philatelic Corporation (CNPC, ) is the primary Government agency, agency authorized by China Post, China Post Group Corporation of the People's Republic of China, PRC to sell national Postage stamp, stamps, other philatelic ...

issued three collections in commemoration of the 60th Anniversary. There are two stamp albums priced at CN¥380 and CN¥680 and a stamp scroll priced at CN¥1,280.

Hongkong Post Hongkong Post is a government department of Hong Kong responsible for postal services, though operated as a trading fund. Founded in 1841, it was known as ''Postal Department'' or ''Post Office'' () before the handover of Hong Kong in 1997. ...

issues a set of six

commemorative stamp A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event, person, or object. The ''subject'' of the commemorative stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike def ...

s and a stamp sheetlet on 1 October. Unlike most stamps, the set of stamps are fan-shaped and form a circle when placed together (as seen in the souvenir sheet configuration). Their pictorial design is based on the winning entries of a competition:

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrumental i ...

and Tiananmen Square are depicted on two interlocking cogwheels on the

HK$ The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cents or 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong and ...

1.40 stamp; the five-star national flag flying by the side of the "Forever Blooming Bauhinia" (HK$1.80). The

Bird's Nest stadium The National Stadium (), also known as the Bird's Nest (), is an 80,000-capacity stadium in Beijing. The stadium was jointly designed by architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron from Basel-based architecture team Herzog & de Meuron, pr ...

is on the HK$2.40, while China's manned spacecraft

Shenzhou 7 Shenzhou 7 () was the third human spaceflight mission of the Chinese space program. The mission, which included the first Chinese extra-vehicular activity (EVA) carried out by crew members Zhai Zhigang and Liu Boming, marked the commencement of ...

is depicted on the HK$2.50. The

Temple of Heaven The Temple of Heaven () is a complex of imperial religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperor of China, Emperors of the Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasties for ...

features on the HK$3 value and a golden dragon soaring above the

adorns the HK$5 stamp. A souvenir sheet features all six stamps, which form a perfect ring with the accompanying number "6", together forming the number "60". Hong Kong's stamp sheetlet has two HK$5 stamps in Chinese red, one featuring Beijing and one

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. The National Emblem and Tiananmen appear on the left and the Regional Emblem above a night view of Hong Kong.

Celebrations abroad

The

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...

in New York City lit up in red and yellow lights to commemorate the occasion;No author, 28 September 2009
Empire State Building turns red-yellow for China's 60th
AFPAbrams, Joseph, 1 October 2009

Fox News the gesture in turn drew criticism that included those from US politicians.Some relevant sources include * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The lights first ignited on the eve of 30 September, and lasted for the duration of the following day. China's ally and neighbouring state,

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, issued a commemorative postage stamp of five rupees on 1 October.

Incidents and protests

Kyodo reporters assault

On 18 September 2009, three employees from the Japanese

Kyodo News is a nonprofit cooperative news agency based in Minato, Tokyo. It was established in November 1945 and it distributes news to almost all newspapers, and radio and television networks in Japan. The newspapers using its news have about 50 millio ...

agency were assaulted by officials in their Beijing hotel room as they tried to cover the rehearsals of the parade. China's Foreign Ministry stated that the reporters did not comply with a notification to news organisations to not cover the rehearsal.

Hong Kong protests

Approximately 800 protesters, dressed in black and holding banners, participated in a human rights protest which started at

Chater Garden Chater Garden, located in the Central District of Hong Kong, is a public park directly east of the Legislative Council building. It is named after Sir Paul Chater, as is the adjacent Chater Road. History In the early days of British ru ...

Central, Hong Kong Central (also Central District) is the central business district of Hong Kong. It is located in Central and Western District, on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, across Victoria Harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui, the southernmost point of Kowloo ...

. Scuffles broke out when activists tried to carry a mock

coffin A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation. Sometimes referred to as a casket, any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for jewel ...

to the doorstep of the liaison office. The music group

My Little Airport My Little Airport is a Hong Kong-based indie pop band. Their English lyrics are marked by spelling, grammar, and rhythm inflected by Hong Kong English. The band's lyrics and music are written by Ah P (Lam Pang) and sung by Nicole (Nicole Au Kin ...

also performed a song named "I Love The Country, But Not The Party" (), using a

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

on the 60th anniversary; its Chinese title literally translates "Country" to mean the

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

and "Party" to mean a "

social gathering A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

".YouTube: I love the Country, but not the Party
/ref>

Notes

References

Life magazine ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...

''
On Location: Beijing – Neighbor or Narc?
– video by the ''Global Post''
The People's Republic Celebrates in Style
– slideshow by ''

The First Post ''The First Post'' was a British daily online news magazine based in London. Launched in August 2005, it was sold to Dennis Publishing in 2008 and retitled ''The Week'' at the end of 2014. In its current format, it publishes news, current af ...

'' *
Full Video of PRC 60th Anniversary Grand Parade
– ''CCTV''
720P High Definition Video of the 60th Anniversary Parade
– (YouTube) (

720p 720p (1280×720 px; also called HD ready, standard HD or just HD) is a progressive HDTV signal format with 720 horizontal lines/1280 columns and an aspect ratio (AR) of 16:9, normally known as widescreen HDTV (1.78:1). All major HDTV broadcast ...

resolution in HD mode) {{DEFAULTSORT:60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China 2009 in China Anniversaries Military parades in China Military history of the People's Republic of China 2009 in military history October 2009 events in China 2000s in Beijing