Hundreds of Chinese police and soldiers have been preparing for months to mark October 1, the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Above, on June 23, participants attend a preparatory ceremony in Beijing. National pride will be on high display with a massive military parade commencing festivities on Thursday, followed by seven days of public celebration.
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On Oct. 1, 1949, Mao Zedong, above, formally established the People's Republic of China, proclaiming in Tiananmen Square that "the Chinese people have stood up." Following the end of World War II and the defeat of their Kuomintang in the Chinese Civil War, Chinese Nationalists retreated to the island of Taiwan, leaving Mao to institute a structured communist state on the mainland. The Kuomintang rules today in Taiwan, where it continues to claim to be the legitimate government of China.
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The Great Leap Forward, also known as the Second Five Year Plan, was instituted under Mao in 1958 in order to produce rapid parallel development of agriculture and industry through countryside communes. Above, Chinese farmers build steel smelting furnaces in October 1958. Mao's hope was for China to meet Western industrialization standards within 15 years; however, the crippling result was widespread famine and societal devastation.
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Red means go: The 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution was a plan initiated by Mao to rehabilitate the Communist Party and his own image after the debacle of the Great Leap Forward. Political and social upheaval resulted from the hard-line practices of Mao's Red Guards, largely composed of activist students who targeted "corrupt" party leaders and community elders. During this period, China changed stoplights so that red meant go and green meant stop. Above, Red Guards march waving copies of Mao's "Little Red Book" of quotations in June 1966 in Beijing.
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A monk-led rebellion against Chinese rule was suppressed in 1959, when Chinese troops took over the Tibetan capital city of Lhasa. Above, Tibetan monks surrender weapons to the Chinese Army on April 11, 1959. Although Beijing espouses claims of progress and prosperity for Tibet under its rule, many Tibetans, under the exiled leadership of the Dalai Lama, advocate for greater autonomy or seek Tibetan independence.
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On Feb. 22, 1972, Richard Nixon became the first U.S. president to travel to mainland China and meet with Mao. Above, in their official meeting in Beijing, the leaders appear to have a friendly rapport. During his visit, Nixon agreed to allow China to reach an independent peaceful settlement with Taiwan. However, the United States continued to recognize the government of Taiwan until 1979, when it established full diplomatic relations with the People's Republic.
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Following political upheaval in the wake of Mao's death in September 1976, Deng Xiaoping, a leader in China's reformist faction, rose to power. Deng and the reformers aimed to reinvent the Chinese economy, instituting market-based prices and certain elements of capitalism, while inviting greater foreign investment. From the late 1970s through the 1990s, China witnessed unprecedented economic growth under Deng's tutelage. Modern China has embraced international trade, becoming "the world's factory," as illustrated above with extensive shipping containers waiting to be shipped from Guangdong province in 2006.
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In April 1989, sparked by the death of a reform-minded official, Hu Yaobang, students from Beijing University organized pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square. The protests lasted seven weeks and involved a spectrum of groups, from Communist Party defectors to economic reformers. Student dissenters, shown above on May 18, 1989, participated in a hunger strike to protest policies of the communist government.
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Dreams demolished: The Tiananmen Square protests were met with violent resistance from the government. Martial law was declared on May 19, 1989. As the third week of hunger protests neared, the Chinese Army was called to clear the square. Initially, Chinese troops attempted to subdue protesters with tear gas and rifles. The violence then escalated, and Chinese security forces massacred hundreds of civilian demonstrators on the nights of June 3 and 4, 1989.
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Chinese's rapid industrial gains and economic growth have helped lift millions out of poverty, but have also taken a great environmental toil. Ninety percent of the country's cities have contaminated groundwater, leading to an increasing number of cancer cases. Of the world's 20 most polluted cities, 16 are in China. The city of Linfen, above, is today famous for its poor air quality, largely the result of pollution from nearby factories and coal-fired power plants.
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Exploding onto the world stage: The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing gave China an opportunity to showcase its progress to the world. The opening ceremonies on Aug. 8, 2008, included a spectacular fireworks display above the "Bird's Nest" stadium, above, and a sequence of dramatic cultural performances overseen by renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou.
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Celebration and security: In preparation for tight security measures at the 60th anniversary celebrations, Chinese police carry out anti-terrorism drills in Beijing on Aug. 11, 2009. To deter any potential trouble, the government has mobilized an extended security and propaganda apparatus, especially in Beijing and in regions where ethnic tensions have recently flared, including Xinjiang and Tibet.
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Above, Chinese President Hu Jintao stands with U.S. President Barack Obama as they arrive Sept. 24 at the opening reception of G-20 summit in Pittsburgh. Hu represents the Communist Party's "fourth generation" of leadership. This generation is marked by technocratic ideology and emphasizes a less centralized political structure. Under Hu, Beijing has encouraged continued economic development, policies to promote a "harmonious society," and, more recently, playing a greater role on the world stage.
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