Although it is observed on 1 October, another six days are added to the official holiday, normally in lieu of the two weekend breaks around 1 October, making it a de facto public holiday comprising seven consecutive days also known as Golden Week (黄金周; huángjīn zhōu) with specifics regulated by the State Council.[3] Festivities and concerts are usually held nationwide on this day, with a grand military parade and mass pageant event held on select years.[A] The parade held on 1 October 2019 marked the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.
The People's Republic of China was founded on 1 October 1949, with a ceremony celebrating the forming of the Central People's Government taking place in Tiananmen Square in its new national capital of Peking (previously Peiping) on the same day that year.[5] The first public parade of the new People's Liberation Army took place there, following the address by the country's first ChairmanMao Zedong officially declaring the formal establishment of the Republic.[6] The Central People's Government passed the Resolution on the National Day of the People's Republic of China on 3 December 1949, and declared that 1 October is the National Day.
National celebrations
National Day marks the start of a Golden Week, a weeklong public holiday.[7][8][9]
The day is celebrated throughout mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau with a variety of government-organized festivities, including fireworks and concerts, as well as sports events and cultural events. Public places, such as Tiananmen Square in Beijing, are decorated in a festive theme. Portraits of revered leaders, such as Mao Zedong, are publicly displayed.[10] The holiday is also celebrated by many overseas Chinese.
Wreath-laying ceremony at the Monument to the People's Heroes
From 2004 to 2013, a national wreath-laying ceremony was held on National Day in Tiananmen Square following the flag raising ceremony on years with no parades. The ceremony was centered on the Monument to the People's Heroes, built in 1958 in remembrance of the millions of Chinese who perished during the long years of national struggle. Beginning in 2014, they have been held on a new holiday, Martyrs' Day, set on the eve of National Day, 30 September, and is presided by party and state leaders.[11]
National flag-raising ceremony
In some years, a flag-raising ceremony has been held at Tiananmen Square in the morning of the day if no parade is scheduled.[12] For many years, the 6 a.m. National Day flag-raising ceremony is the more important act on years without any anniversary parades. Held at the Tiananmen Square, since 2017 the Beijing Garrison Honor Guard Battalion's Color Guard Company is present for the ceremony with the National Marching Band of the PLA. Until 2016 the Beijing People's Armed Police units provided men for the ceremonial color guard unit. The ceremony is open to the general public and tourists and is widely televised and streamed online for viewers at home and aboard. At the end of the ceremony, doves are released.
The special civil-military parade of the People's Liberation Army, People's Armed Police and the Militia together with representatives of the people of all walks of life including the Young Pioneers of China is held on special years in the morning of National Day itself. It has since 1984 been televised on China Central Television since 1984 (and broadcast around the world from that year as well via satellite and cable television), is a key highlight of the national celebrations in Beijing.[13] The parade was annual from 1950 to 1959 and terminated until 1984.[14] There was a parade planned for 1989 but was cancelled following the June 4th crackdown. Parades were held again in 1999 and 2009.[15][16][17]
Tiananmen Square, 2006 National Day of the PRC. The placard reads "Warmly celebrate the 57th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China". The portrait is that of Sun Yat-sen.[18]
Military vehicles were shown in the celebration of the 50th anniversary
2004 National Day celebration in Tiananmen Square, Beijing
^Since the founding of the people's republic to 2009, the country has held 14 National Day grand military parades in 1949–1959, 1984, 1999, and 2009.[4]
^"国务院办公厅关于2019年部分节假日安排的通知" [Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Some Holiday Arrangements in 2019]. 4 December 2018. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
^新中国历次大阅兵 [New China's previous grand military parades]. gov.cn. Xinhua News Agency. 21 August 2009. Archived from the original on 27 December 2009. Retrieved 26 September 2019.