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Mao and Deng, the Cultural Revolution and reform: the making of modern China.

Use the timeline below to navigate through major events and milestones.

People's Republic of China · 1949-Present
中華人民共和國 · PRC

The People's Republic of China

From Mao's proclamation of the People's Republic through the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, the opening to the United States, and Deng Xiaoping's reforms that transformed the economy, to the Tiananmen protests and China's rise to global power in the twenty-first century. Slide across the years to read the major events that made modern China.

1949 AD
The Founding of the PRC
1 / 9

Mao proclaims the People's Republic

On 1 October 1949 Mao Zedong stands atop Tiananmen and declares that the Chinese people have stood up.

1949 AD

The Founding of the PRC
  • Political

    Mao proclaims the People's Republic

    Mao Zedong proclaims the People's Republic of China, 1 October 1949
    Via Wikimedia Commons

    On 1 October 1949 Mao Zedong stands atop Tiananmen and declares that the Chinese people have stood up.

9 milestones

Meanwhile

Around 1949 AD

Full Chronicle

The People's Republic of China

From Mao's proclamation of the People's Republic through the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, the opening to the United States, and Deng Xiaoping's reforms that transformed the economy, to the Tiananmen protests and China's rise to global power in the twenty-first century. Slide across the years to read the major events that made modern China.

  1. The Founding of the PRC

    • Mao proclaims the People's Republic

      On 1 October 1949 Mao Zedong stands atop Tiananmen and declares that the Chinese people have stood up.

  2. The Mao Era

    • The Great Leap Forward

      Mao's drive to industrialize overnight through rural communes ends in the deadliest famine in human history.

  3. The Cultural Revolution

    • The Cultural Revolution

      Mao unleashes the Red Guards against the party and society, plunging China into a decade of upheaval.

  4. The Cultural Revolution

    • Nixon comes to China

      President Nixon's visit reopens relations with the United States, realigning the balance of the Cold War.

  5. Reform and Opening

    • Deng Xiaoping and reform and opening

      Deng Xiaoping launches market reforms that will lift hundreds of millions out of poverty and remake China.

  6. Reform and Opening

    • The Tiananmen Square protests

      Mass demonstrations for reform in Beijing end when the government declares martial law and clears the square by force.

  7. The Rise of China

    • China joins the World Trade Organization

      China's entry into the WTO seals its place as the workshop of the world and an emerging economic superpower.

  8. The Rise of China

    • The Beijing Olympics

      China stages a dazzling Olympic Games, announcing its arrival as a confident world power.

  9. The Rise of China

    • Xi Jinping and the Belt and Road

      Xi Jinping consolidates power and launches the Belt and Road Initiative, extending China's reach across the globe.