Published : 01/10/2025

On 1st October 1949, the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China (PRC) was held at Tiananmen Square in the capital, Beijing, where the Chairman of the Central People's Government, Mao Zedong, read out the "Proclamation of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China", solemnly declaring to the entire world the establishment of the PRC.

At 2 p.m. that afternoon, the Committee of the Central People's Government, presided over by Mao Zedong, held its first plenary session in Beijing.

The Chairman, Vice-Chairmen, and all members of the Central People's Government attended the meeting and announced their assumption of office.

The meeting unanimously resolved: to announce the establishment of the Central People's Government of the PRC; to accept the "Common Programme" of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference as the administrative programme of the government.

Lin Boqu (林伯渠) was elected as the Secretary-General of the Committee of the Central People's Government; Zhou Enlai (周恩來) was appointed as the Premier of the Government Administration Council of the Central People's Government and concurrently the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mao Zedong as the Chairman of the People's Revolutionary Military Council of the Central People's Government, Zhu De (朱德) as the Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Shen Junru (沈鈞儒) as the President of the Supreme People's Court of the Central People's Government, and Luo Ronghuan (羅榮桓) as the Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate of the Central People's Government, and they were charged with swiftly forming government bodies and carrying out various tasks.

At 3 p.m., 300,000 soldiers and civilians from Beijing gathered at Tiananmen Square to celebrate the establishment of the Central People's Government of the PRC.

Lin Boqu announced the beginning of the ceremony, and the Chairman, Vice-Chairmen, and committee members took their places on the Tiananmen Rostrum, after which Chairman Mao Zedong formally announced: "The Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China is established."

Amidst the sound of the national anthem, Mao Zedong personally pressed the button to raise the first five-star red flag, and at this moment, 54 cannons fired a 28-gun salute.

Following that, Mao Zedong read out the government proclamation again, declaring the establishment of the People's Republic of China to the whole world.

After a series of ceremonies and proclamations, a grand military parade commenced. Commander-in-Chief Zhu De inspected the army, navy and air force, and read out an order from the Headquarters of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), ordering the PLA to "swiftly eliminate the remnants of the Kuomintang's opposition forces, liberate all territories not yet liberated, and at the same time, wipe out bandits and all other counter-revolutionary gangsters, and suppress all their acts of resistance and disruption."

In the evening, Beijing residents held a parade carrying red lanterns to joyfully celebrate the founding of the PRC.