The National Day of the People's Republic of China is a holiday established to commemorate the founding of the People's Republic of China, observed annually on October 1st. This blog delves into its origins, the evolution of celebration forms, common festive activities, and its profound significance.

On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China held its founding ceremony, where Mao Zedong declared the establishment of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China on the Tiananmen Rostrum in Beijing. On October 9, the first session of the First National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference adopted a proposal "to take October 1 as the National Day of the People's Republic of China". On December 2, the Fourth Session of the Central People's Government Committee adopted the "Resolution on the National Day of the People's Republic of China", proclaiming that from 1950 onwards, October 1 would be designated as the National Day of the People's Republic of China.

From 1950 to 1959, large-scale celebration activities were held every National Day, and military parades were also held in Beijing and some provinces and cities in the first two years. From 1960 to 1970, only grand gatherings and mass celebration parades were held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, without military parades. From 1971 to 1983, mass parades were canceled, and celebrations were held in the form of large-scale garden parties and other activities. In 1984, military parades and mass celebration parades were restarted. In the following decades, grand National Day celebrations were usually held "every ten years", and in other years, celebrations were held in the form of placing three-dimensional flower beds.

Every National Day, various enterprises and institutions will hang lanterns or banners, and squares will be decorated with potted plants and hydrogen balloons with slogan words. For example, in 2023, Tiananmen Square and the area along Chang'an Avenue in Beijing were decorated with flowers under the theme of "Comprehensively Promoting the Great Rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation with Chinese-Style Modernization", creating a warm and festive holiday atmosphere.

Every October 1st, flag-raising ceremonies are held in various parts of China. On the morning of October 1, 2023, a flag-raising ceremony was held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, and the governments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region also held flag-raising ceremonies and National Day receptions at 8 a.m.

Military parades are an important part of the National Day ceremony. From the founding ceremony in 1949 to the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 2019, a total of 15 National Day military parades were held.

National Day is a symbol of the country, marking the establishment of an independent nation and reflecting China's state system and political system. At the same time, it bears the function of reflecting the cohesion of the country and the nation, and also embodies the government's mobilization and call power. It is a day that unites the Chinese people at home and abroad, evokes national pride, and reminds everyone of the hard-won journey of the country's development.