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

military parade A military parade is a formation of military personnels whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as Drill team, drilling or marching. Large military parades are today held on major holidays and military events around the ...

was held in

Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square () is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen ("''Gate of Heavenly Peace''") located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains th ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and various celebrations were conducted all over the country.

General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party The general secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party ( zh, s=中国共产党中央委员会总书记, p=Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Wěiyuánhuì Zǒngshūjì) is the leader of the Chinese Communist Part ...

Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as Chairman of the Central Mil ...

inspected the troops along

Chang'an Avenue file:50th anniversary of PRC 1.jpg, 250px, Chang'an Avenue hosts military parades. Here are armoured fighting vehicles leaving Tian'anmen Square during the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, 1999 National Day parade. Chang'an ...

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

Broadcast

China Central Television China Central Television (CCTV) is the State media, national television broadcaster of China, established in 1958. CCTV is operated by the National Radio and Television Administration which reports directly to the Publicity Department of th ...

and

Beijing Television Beijing Radio and Television Station (BRTV), formerly Beijing Media Network (BMN), is a government-owned television network in China. It broadcasts from Beijing. The channel is available only in Chinese. Broadcasts in Beijing are on AM, FM, ca ...

was responsible for the live broadcast of the National Day celebrations military parade from 8:30 a.m. (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-4 CCTV-4 is a Chinese free-to-air television channel. It is one of six China Central Television channels that broadcasts outside of China. It airs a variety of programmes, including documentaries, music, news, drama series, sports and children's ...

and CCTV HDTV test channel

China National Radio China National Radio (CNR; ) is the national radio network of China, headquartered in Beijing. CNR forms the national radio service of the state-owned China Media Group (also known as the "Voice of China"). History The infrastructure began wi ...

provided live audio coverage throughout

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

, and "

Xinwen Lianbo ''Xinwen Lianbo'' () is a Chinese daily news television programme produced by state-owned television broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV). It is shown simultaneously by all local TV stations in mainland China, making it one of the world ...

" anchors Xing Zhibin and

Luo Jing Luo Jing (; May 29, 1961 – June 5, 2009) was a prominent news anchor for China Central Television (CCTV), the main state broadcaster of the People's Republic of China. He was known all over China as an announcer for the 7:00 pm CCTV News ...

served as commentators

Prelude

At 9:58 a.m., CCP Politburo Standing Committee members

Li Peng Li Peng (; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the 4th premier of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, from ...

Zhu Rongji Zhu Rongji ( zh, s=朱镕基; IPA: ; born 23 October 1928) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the 5th premier of China from 1998 to 2003. He also served as member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP ...

Li Ruihuan Li Ruihuan (born September 17, 1934) is a Chinese retired politician. Li was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), China's top decision-making body, between 1989 and 2002. Li served as Chairman of th ...

Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese retired politician who served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the president of China from 2003 to 2013, and chairman of the Central Military Comm ...

Wei Jianxing Wei Jianxing (; January 2, 1931 – August 7, 2015) was a senior leader in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), most active during the 1980s and 1990s. He successively held a number of important offices, including member of the Politburo Standing C ...

Li Lanqing Li Lanqing (; born 22 May 1932) is a retired Chinese politician who served as first-ranked Vice Premier of China between 1998 and 2003. He was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) between 1997 and 2 ...

and other party and state leaders came and stood atop Tiananmen amidst the welcome music. At 10 a.m.,

Jia Qinglin Jia Qinglin (; born 13 March 1940) is a retired senior leader of the People's Republic of China and of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He was a member of the CCP's Politburo Standing Committee, the party's highest ruling organ, between ...

, 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 ...

and the master of ceremonies for the event, announced the beginning of the "Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China". A 50-gun salute was fired, and 200 National Flag Guard of the Armed Police marched down from the

Monument to the People's Heroes The Monument to the People's Heroes () is a ten-story obelisk that was erected as a national monument of China to the Martyr (China), martyrs of revolutionary struggle during the 19th and 20th centuries. It is located in the southern part of Tiana ...

, passing the portrait of

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by Names of Sun Yat-sen, several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who founded the Republ ...

and walked along the central axis to the flag-raising area. The Chinese People's Liberation Army Joint Military Band (中国人民解放军联合军乐团) composed of more than 1,100 people played the " National Anthem of the People's Republic of China", and the audience sang in unison. The Five-star red flag was rising and flying high over the square

Inspection

At 10:07 a.m. Chairman of the Central Military Commission

inspected the troops standing onto a Hongqi CA772TJ limousine with a license 申A 02156. drove out of

Tiananmen Gate The Tiananmen , also Tian'anmen, is the entrance gate of the Forbidden City imperial palace complex and Imperial City in the center of Beijing, China. It is widely used as a national symbol. First built in 1420 during the Ming dynasty, Ti ...

. General Li Xinliang, chief commander of the military parade and commander of the

Beijing Military Region The Beijing Military Region was one of seven military regions for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. From the mid-1980s to 2017, it had administration of all military affairs within Beijing city, Tianjin city, Hebei province, Shanxi province, ...

, took a review car from the East Red Wall to the Jinshui Bridge, and went forward to report to Jiang Zemin: "Comrade Chairman, the troops under review are ready. Please review them!" "Start!" Jiang Zemin issued an order. Following an order, more than 1,000

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...

members played the "Troops Review March of the PLA" At 10:08 a.m. the review vehicle drove up to the parade line and drove slowly from west to east. Jiang Zemin reviewed the troops, made out of ground force, navy, air force and militia formations, accompanied by Li Xinliang. After reviewing the troops, Jiang Zemin returned to the Tiananmen Gate and delivered a speech.

Military Parade

At 10:36 a.m. Lt.Gen. Chen Xitao announced the start of the Military Parade. ;List of participating divisions in the parade In order of appearance (An unit indicates that this is its first appearance) *

PLA Pla may refer to: People * Cecilio Plá (1860–1934), Spanish painter * Conrad Pla (born 1966), Canadian kickboxer and actor * Jim Pla (born 1992), French racing driver * Joan Baptista Pla (ca. 1720–1773), Spanish composer and oboist * Josefina ...

Beijing Garrison Honor Guard Battalion The Beijing Garrison Honor Guard Battalion (), officially the PLA Honour Guard, is a ceremonial Guard of honour, honour guard and specialised unit of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). It is composed of representatives of the People's Liberation ...

(Chinese: 中国人民解放军三军仪仗队) *

PLA National Defence University The National Defense University is a national public collegiate military university headquartered in Haidian, Beijing, China, with constituent and affiliated military academies nationwide. Established in 1985 by a military order of Deng X ...

Cadet Officers (Chinese: 国防大学方队) *

PLA Ground Force The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF), also referred to as the PLA Army, is the land-based service branch of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and also its largest and oldest branch. The PLAGF can trace its lineage from 1927 as ...

Cadet Officers (Chinese: 陆军学员方队) *

PLA Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy, also known as the People's Navy, PLA Navy or simply Chinese Navy, is the naval warfare branch of the People's Liberation Army, the national military of the People's Republic of China. It is composed of fiv ...

Cadet Officers (Chinese: 海军学员方队) *

PLA Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...

Cadet Officers (Chinese: 空军学员方队) *

Infantry (Chinese: 陆军一步兵方队) *

Second Infantry (Chinese: 陆军二步兵方队) * PLA Navy Seamen (Chinese: 海军水兵方队) * PLA Navy Marines Corps (Chinese: 海军陆战队方队) * PLA Air Force Pilots (Chinese: 空军飞行员方队) * PLA Air Force Paratroopers (Chinese: 空军空降兵方队) *PLA Female Soldiers (Chinese: 女兵方队) * PAP Policemen (Chinese: 人民武警警卫方队) * (Chinese: 人民武警特警方队) * (Chinese: 预备役部队方队) * Male Militia (Chinese: 男民兵方队) * Female Militia (Chinese: 女民兵方队) ;List of military vehicles paraded The equipment are listed in the order of appearance, with new appearances in : * * * * * * * * * * Type-83 152 mm self-propelled howitzer * * * PHL-81 self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher * * * * * * HY-2 anti-ship missile * HQ-2 surface-to-air missile * S-300 surface-to-air missile * * * * ;List of military aircraft paraded * Xian H-6 strategic bomber **along with Chengdu J-7EB fighter * Xian H-6 strategic bomber * Xian H-6 refueling aircraft/ Shenyang J-8D refueling aircraft * * * Chengdu J-7D fighter aircraft * * * * Armored forces and artillery accounted for 70% of the parade while the airborne portion was increased to 10%.

Grand pageant (Mass pageant)

After the military parade ended, mass pageant began. The mass pegeant consisted of three themes, namely "Founding of the Country and Entrepreneurship", "Reform and Glory", and "Century of Soaring". A total of more than 100,000 people and 91 floats participated in the parade.

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, Captain Li Xing **

Central Military Band of the People's Liberation Army of China The Central Military Band of People's Liberation Army of China ( zh, 中国人民解放军军乐团) is a military music unit made for state ceremonies carried out by the People's Liberation Army of China. For more than 70 years, the band has acted ...

***State Trumpeters ** People's Liberation Army Navy Band ** People's Liberation Army Air Force Female Band ** People's Armed Police Band ** Women's Military Band of the PLA National Defense University

Music

;Flag raising, military parade, drive-by, and flyby # (欢迎进行曲) # (National Anthem of the People's Republic of China) (义勇军进行曲) # (中国人民解放军进行曲) # (检阅进行曲) # (人民军队忠于党) # (三大纪律八项注意) # (军校之歌) # (当兵的人) # (分列式进行曲) # (战车进行曲) # (摩托化部队进行曲) # (炮兵进行曲) # (人民海军向前进) # (火箭部队进行曲) # (中国空军进行曲) ;Civilian parade # (歌唱祖国) # (我们走在大路上) # (没有共产党就没有新中国) # (春天的故事) # (在希望的田野上) # (咱们工人有力量) # (长江之歌) # (好日子) # (载歌载舞的人们) # (五環旗下) # (中国, 中国, 鲜红的太阳永不落) # (走进新时代) # (爱我中华) # (中国少年先锋队队歌) # (七色光)

Card sequence slogans

More than 100,000 teenagers held bouquets and flipped cards in the square, transforming into a variety of characters and patterns.

List of card sequence slogans

* National Anniversary * with and * * ( Long Live the People's Republic of China) * * (Political eligibility) * (Military excellence) * (Good style) * (Be highly disciplined) * (Strong Protection) * * (Long Live the motherland) * * (

Reform and opening-up Reform and opening-up ( zh, s=改革开放, p=Gǎigé kāifàng), also known as the Chinese economic reform or Chinese economic miracle, refers to a variety of economic reforms termed socialism with Chinese characteristics and socialist market ...

) * * (Science and education strengthens the nation) * (Towards the new century) * (National unity) * (National unity) * (

One country, two systems "One country, two systems" is a constitutional principle of the People's Republic of China (PRC) describing the governance of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. Deng Xiaoping developed the one country, two systems ...

) * (Peaceful development) * (The motherland will be better tomorrow)

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 Beijing Chinese historical anniversaries Military parades in China Military history of the People's Republic of China 1999 in military history October 1999 in China Turn of the third millennium 20th-century military history of China