| The 10th Anniversary of the Founding of The People’s Republic of China | |
| Native Name: | 庆祝中华人民共和国成立10周年大会 |
| Native Name Lang: | zh |
| Genre: | Military parade, mass pageant, music and dance gala |
| Date: | 1 October 1959 |
| Frequency: | Select years |
| Location: | Chang'an Avenue, Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China |
| Coordinates: | 39.9073°N 116.3911°W |
| Participants: | PLA, PAP, the Militia, and other formations |
| Leader Name: | Mao Zedong (chairman) |
| People: | Yang Yong (chief commander of the military parade) |
| Or Sponsors: | --> |
The 10th anniversary celebrations of founding of the People's Republic of China were held on 1 October 1959. The main event was held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. A grand banquet with many international dignitaries had been organized on the preceding evening.[1]
On 28 and 29 September 1959 a meeting of more than 10,000 people was held in the Great Hall of the People. Chairman Mao Zedong and President Liu Shaoqi were present at the dias. President Liu Shaoqi held a keynote speech at the meeting. Prominent international guests at the event included Ho Chi Minh, Mikhail Suslov, Emil Bodnăraș, Hermann Matern, Mehmet Shehu, Dimitar Ganev, István Dobi, Aleksander Zawadzki, Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal, Kim Il Sung and Antonín Novotný.[1]
On the evening of 30 September 1959, a jubilee banquet was hosted in the Great Hall of the People. Around 5,000 people attended the banquet, including guests from around 80 countries. Mao Zedong and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev entered the hall together, meeting applause. Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and Soviet Premier Khrushchev presented their greetings at the banquet. The Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko also participated in the banquet.[1]
Khrushchev had arrived directly from a visit to the United States on the same day. He held a short speech upon his arrival at the airport.[1]
According to Chinese media, the Tiananmen Square event gathered 700,000 people. At Tiananmen Square participants formed a human version of the national emblem of the People's Republic with the numerals '1949' and '1959' on the sides. A band of one thousand musicians with brass instruments and olive-green uniforms opened the event, playing The East is Red at 09.45. At this point Mao Zedong and Nikita Khrushchev entered the dias. Other dignitaries on the dias included Liu Shaoqi, Soong Ching-ling, Lin Biao, Zhu De, Dong Biwu, Deng Xiaoping and various international guests.[1] The mayor of Peking, Peng Zhen, declared the ceremony open at 10.00. The national anthem was played and a delegation of 400 Young Pioneers presented a floral tribute at the People's Heroes Monument.[1]
After a speech by Defense Minister Lin Biao, a military parade began, followed by a parade of workers, peasants, students and athletes.[1]
At the 30 September banquet, a number of international delegations assisted, representing communist and workers parties and governments.[2]
| Organization | Name | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Federation of Trade Unions | Sugiri | Secretariat Member | |
| World Peace Council | John Desmond Bernal, | Executive President | |
| Women's International Democratic Federation | Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier | Vice President | |
| World Federation of Democratic Youth | Christian Echard | General Secretary | |
| Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Council | Youssef El-Sebai | General Secretary | |
| International Union of Students | Jiří Pelikán | President | |
| International Association of Democratic Lawyers | Denis Nowell Pritt | President |
In Beijing, ten "great buildings" were constructed ahead of the celebrations. The most prominent of the ten was the Great Hall of the People.[3] On 26 September 1959, just a few days ahead of the anniversary, oil was discovered at Datongzhen. Datong Town and the oilfields were renamed 'Daqing' ('Great Celebration'), in reference to the tenth anniversary celebrations.[4] [5] Major parades were also organized in Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Xi'an, Wuhan, Shenyang and Tianjin.
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