Chronology of the People's Republic of China

Chronology

1949

On January 31, the peaceful liberation of ancient Beiping (Beijing) was proclaimed. On February 3, People's Liberation Army units marched into the city to a warm welcome.
On April 23, People's Liberation Army crossed the Yangtze River and liberated Nanjing and occupied the presidential palace, ending the rule of Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang clique.
The First Plenary Session of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference was held in Beijing from September 21 to 30. It passed the Common Programme of CPPCC and organization law and other documents of the Central People's Government Council, elected Mao Zedong chairman of the Central People's Government Council, and decided on Beijing as the country's capital. This picture shows the meeting place of the First Plenary Session of CPPCC.

A grand founding ceremony was held on October 1, 1949. Mao Zedong solemnly proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China to the world from the top of the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing.

1950

Chairman Mao Zedong presided over the second meeting of the First National Committee of CPPCC in June. It discussed and decided the design of the national emblem.
The Agrarian Reform Law of the People's Republic of China, promulgated not long after the founding of New China, was warmly supported by the emancipated poor peasants of the whole country.
In October, thousands upon thousands of Chinese People's Volunteers valiantly crossed the Yalu River and fought side by side with the Korean People's Army against the US aggressors.
On February 14, the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance was signed in Moscow. Chairman Mao Zedong and Marshal Stalin presided over the signing ceremony. The picture shows Premier Zhou Enlai, concurrently Minister of Foreign Affairs, signing on behalf of the Chinese Government.
Ye Gengtu (in black clothes), a peasant of Jiaxin County, Zhejiang Province, and his family, suffered from hunger and cold in the old society when famine was common. After liberation, they live a happy life through their labor, and live and work in peace and contentment. Ye Xingfu (right front), his son, joined the army and the Communist Party. Later, he became head of a state farm.

1951

On May 23, representatives of the Central People's Government and Tibet local government signed an Agreement on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet in Beijing. From that time on, the Tibetan people were freed from imperialist enslavement and returned to the big family of the People's Republic of China, where the various ethnic groups are equal and love each other. In the picture are Li Weihan (first from right on the front row), chief representative of the Central People's Government and Ngapo Ngawang Jigme (fourth from right on the rear row), chief representative of Tibet local government.
In the winter of the previous year and the spring of this year, vigorous land reform movement was launched in a planned way in most areas of the country. Here the land reform committee, composed of poor peasants, farm laborers and middle peasants, of Matang Township, First District of Yueyang County, Hunan Province, is discussing division of the land.
Hao Jianxiu, a textile woman worker in Qingdao, studied hard and gained professional proficiency in only two years. She created a set of advanced working methods to raise the quantity and quality of the cotton yard, which was named the ``Hao Jianxiu Work Method'' by Ministry of Textile. She became a famous national model worker.

1952

Building of the No. 7 iron-smelling furnace, a heavy rolling mill and a seamless tubing mill were the three basic projects for the transformation of the old Anshan Iron and Steel Plant. Workers work hard to build a gas pipeline of the furnace.
The construction of the first phase of Tanggu New Port, located besides the Bohai Sea, southeast of Tianjin, was completed ahead of time. It was the first commercial port built by China itself, and one of the centers for materials exchange between south and north and foreign trade. Here, the first 10,000-ton steamboat, Changchunhao, enters the port.
On June 18, the flood-diversion project of the Jinjiang River was completed successfully. It marked the first step in harnessing the Yangtze River. This is the Huangshantou gate on the south end of the diversion area on the right bank of the Yangtze River. The mighty water of the Hudu River passes the gate and flows into the Dongting River.
Liu Qingshan, former Party secretary of CPC Tianjin Prefectural Committee, and Zhang Zishan, former commissioner of Tianjin Prefecture involved in serious graft, went on trial publicly in Baoding, Hebei, on February 10. They were sentenced to death, during the nation-wide movement against the three evils (corruption, waste and bureaucracy), and were executed the same day.

1953

This was the first year of the First Five-Year Plan, China's first seamless tube was made in Anshan, the capital of steel. Here, the first fine-quality seamless steel tube emerges from a punch. It showed that, from then on, China can make any kind of seamless tube for the use of industrial construction.
Haizhou Coal Mine in Fuxin, completed in only two years, was the largest open cut coal mine with machine production in China, producing 8 million tons a year and providing a large amount of fine-quality coal to various parts of the country. It was still under construction while producing coal. Here is a corner of the mine, with a new coal loading machine in operation.
After two years of negotiation, the Korean truce agreement was signed on the afternoon of July 27. Army General Nan Ri (right), chief representative of the Chinese delegation, and chief representative of the US counterpart (left) sign the truce and the provisional supplementary agreement.
On March 8, International Women's Day, the first batch of women pilots trained by New China held a ceremony in the capital to celebrate their first flight. Their skillful flight performance won the praise of 7,000 women from various circles. Here is the first batch of aircrew women, including pilots, navigators, correspondents and mechanics.

1954

The First Session of First National People's Congress was held in Beijing on the basis of the establishment people's congresses at various levels. It was a big event in Chinese people's political life. Here, the famous actress Bai Yang, a deputy of National People's Congress elected by the people, votes for the new state leaders.
Poor and lower-middle peasants in suburbs of Beijing take an active part in agricultural cooperatives in the high tide of the national agricultural cooperative movement.
A Chinese delegation, led by Zhou Enlai, participated in the Geneva Conference between April and July to produce an Indochina truce agreement.
Zhou Enlai visited India and Myanmar in June.
The Constitution of People's Republic of China was adopted at the First Session of the First National People's Congress in September.
Owing to rapid economic rehabilitation and development, goods piled up in Zangjiawan Market, Tongxian County, Hebei Province. Peasants buy flour and other daily utensils after selling their cotton.
On December 25, the Xikang-Tibet Highway and Qinghai-Tibet Highway opened to traffic, linking the Tibetan people with other parts of the country. Trucks that have traveled over the Qinghai-Tibet Highway are welcomed by Lhasa people.
In December, the First Session of the Second CPPCC elected Mao Zedong as honorary chairman and Zhou Enlai as chairman.

1955

The People's Liberation Army practices compulsory military service and a system of military ranks. On September 27, a ceremony of conferring marshal titles and medals by the chairman of the People's Republic of China was held in Beijing. Zhu De was made a marshal and awarded the first-class Order of August 1, the first-class Order of Independence and Freedom and the first-class Order of Liberation.
On January 18, the army and navy forces of the People's Liberation Army in the Zhejinag frontline cooperated with each other and liberated Shandao Island in the Yijiang River, occupied by the army of Chiang Kai-shek, demonstrating the determination and strength of the Chinese people in smashing the ``common defense treaty'' of the United States and Chiang Kai-shek and liberating Taiwan. Here a landing craft rapidly nears the landing point under the cover of the navy and air force.
Fengman Hydropower Station located on the upper reaches of the Songhua River in northeast China was built in 1937, with an installed capacity of 134,000 kw. After the founding of New China, the station was rebuilt with an installed capacity of 550,000 kw.
According to the policy of regional autonomy of national minorities, Xinjiang province was abolished by the Chinese government and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was established on October 1, the second autonomous region following the establishment of Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. Pious Muslims pray in front of the ancient Aitga Mosque in Kashi.
In the afternoon of April 19, Zhou Enlai, chief representative of Chinese delegation, made a speech at the plenary session of the Asian-African Conference held in Bandung.
In October, the Sixth Plenum of the Seventh CPC Central Committee adopted the Resolution on Question of the Agricultural Co-operative Movement. An upsurge in the agricultural co-operative movement is in the making.
Peasants nation-wide hailed the victory of the agricultural cooperative movement.

1956

On January 15, a rally was held attended by people from all walks of life in Beijing to celebrate the victory of socialist transformation.
The Eighth National Congress of Communist Party was held in Beijing from September 15-27. It was the first national congress held by the Party after the victory of Chinese revolution, thus being of historical significance. The congress pointed out that the principal contradiction in the country was between the advanced socialist system and backward productive forces. It elected Mao Zedong as chairman of the Central Committee, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and Chen Yun as vice-chairmen, and Deng Xiaoping as general secretary. Here, Mao Zedong makes the opening speech.
Cooperative transformations of agriculture and handicraft were accomplished and industrial and commercial joint state-private owned enterprises were established first in more than a hundred large and medium-sized cities including Beijing. Here, people of Wuhan joyfully celebrate the great victory of socialist transformation.
In April, Mao Zedong put forward the principles of ``let a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend.''
The first batch of heavy trucks are driving out of the newly-built No. 1 Changchun Motor Vehicle Plant.

* The Baoji-Chengdu Railway, connecting southwest and northwest China, opened to traffic in July. Here, a train passes over the Dabakou Bridge into Chengdu.

* During the First Five-Plan period, beside the transformation of Anshan Iron and Steel Complex two new iron and steel industrial bases will be established in Wuhan and Baotou. Here the No. 7 automatic blast furnace has been completed and put into operation in the Anshan Iron and Steel Complex.

1957

* In Wuhan, the first bridge across the Yangtze River, designed and built by China itself, opened to traffic on October 15. The bridge proper is 1,154 meters long, while the approaches total 514 meters. The span between two arches is 128 meters.

* The first ``An 2'' civil airplane manufactured by China, noted for its easy takeoff and landing, emerged at the end of the year. Mass production is the way to satisfy the needs of agricultural development.

* People of the Miao and Yao ethnic groups did not have their own written language in the past and records and accounting were made by rope knots, bamboo carvings or bean counting. The Chinese Academy of Sciences and Central Institute of National Minorities carried out a thorough investigation and helped them create their written language. Representatives from the Miao ethnic group are glad to see the draft designs of their language.

* Famous artist Qi Baishi, chairman of Chinese Artists Association, died on September 16, at the age of 97. He was once a deputy of National People's Congress. Here, he attends the Third Plenary Session of the NPC.

* The missile unit of the United States stationed in Taiwan. A rally against US aggression is staged by tens of thousands people from Taibei.

* A Chinese delegation led by Mao Zedong visited the Soviet Union in November.

1958

* China's first experimental atomic reactor and cyclotron were put into production before the country's ninth anniversary. The purpose of the development of atomic energy in China is for speeding up socialist construction and improving people's life so as to consolidate world peace and bring benefits to mankind.

* The Second Plenum of Eighth National Congress of Chinese Communist Party was held in Beijing in May. It adopted the general line of building socialism. The Great Leap Forward and people's commune movements were started in the countryside.

* All the Chinese People's Volunteers withdrew from Korea at the end of October. Here, the Korean people and People's Army farewell the Chinese People's Volunteers.

* From August 23 to October 25, directed by Mao Zedong himself, the People's Liberation Army shelled Nationalist troops on Jinmen (Quemoy) Island who had been bombarding coastal villages and towns. The PLA dealt them a crushing blow and exposed the aggressive intentions of the United States. Here, artillery troops in Fujian carry out the bombardment.

1959

* The 21-year-old table tennis player Rong Guotuan won the first men's singles world championship for China after beating a famous Bulgarian player in the 25th World Table Tennis Championships on April 5.

* The opening ceremony of the First National Sports Meet of the People's Republic of China was held in the newly-built Beijing Workers Stadium on September 13. Honor guards, shouldering the national emblem and holding national flag, marched into the stadium amidst loud cheers of the eighty thousand audiences.

* Democratic reform was carried out and the feudal serf system was eliminated in Tibet. The liberated serfs burned their contracts and debt papers imposed on them by serf owners.

* An enlarged meeting of CPC Central Committee Political Bureau was held in Lushan from July 2 to August 16. Peng Dehuai and some others were wrongly criticized. After the meeting a nation-wide struggle against Right deviationism was launched. * In celebrating the 10th anniversary of the founding of People's Republic of China, chairman Liu Shaoqi issued the order to grant special amnesty to some important war criminals because China's economy had rehabilitated and developed in an all-round way and national strength had increased. Here Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, receives the special amnesty certificate.

1960

* The startup of Daqing Oilfield in Songliao Plain, Heilongjiang Province marked China's achievement in becoming self-sufficient in oil. At the early period of its building, conditions were hard. Here, model worker Wang Jingxi installs a drilling machine with other workers.

* On February 2, 61 road construction workers suffered food poisoning in Pinglu County, Shanxi Province. With the help of Ministry of Health, Beijing Special Medicine Pharmacy and PLA air force they were brought out of danger after emergency treatment, demonstrating the spirit of communist cooperation of the Chinese people.

* On May 25, three Chinese mountaineers reached the summit of Mount Qomolangma from the north side, and planted the national flag of China and chairman Mao's statue on the summit of the globe. Here are the three mountaineers, Wang Fuzhou, Gongbu (Tibetan) and Qu Yinghau (from left to right).

* The government of Soviet Union withdrew all its experts from China, tore up all contracts and agreements, and stopped supplying important equipment in July.

1961

* In January, the Ninth Plenary Session of Eighth CPC Central Committee adopted the national economic policy of `readjustment, consolidation, filling out and improvement.''

* A 10,000 -ton hydraulic press is an important equipment in making large-scale industrial forging. The first 12,000-ton hydraulic press made by Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard functions well after trial operation.

* The first phase of Luoyang No. 1 Tractor Plant went into production, making 15,000 Dongfanghong 54-hp caterpillar tractors each year. Picture shows tractors being transported to different areas of the countryside.

* Mei Lanfang, China's outstanding opera star, died in Beijing at 5 o'clock on August 8 at the age of 67. In this picture he is discussing operas with fellow artists Yu Zhenfei, Ma Shizeng, Hong Xiannu, Chang Xiangyu and Chen Bohua.

* The 26th World Table Tennis Championships were held in Beijing. The Chinese team won three world champions--men's team, men's singles and women's singles.

1962

* It is a country's sovereign to pilot foreign ships into its own harbor. But in old China, the pilot right was always in the hands of the imperialists. After Liberation, the pilot cause developed rapidly and many outstanding personnel emerged in this field. Here Gong Aliu (middle ), a Chinese pilot in Shanghai Harbor is piloting a British commercial ship out of the harbor.

* Xin'anjiang Hydraulic Power Station designed and built by China, with an installed capacity of 652,500 kW, which helped promote the construction of the areas in East China. The reservoir enables the station protects 300,000 mu of fields in the lower reaches from flooding.

* A stage play ``Princess Wencheng'' was performed by Tibetan performers in Beijing. These performers, who studied for two years in the Shanghai Theatrical Institute, were the first generation of stage play performers of Tibet. Seen on stage here are the actors playing the parts of Princess Wencheng and King Songtsan Ganbo.

* In October, Indian troops launched a large-scale attack on the eastern and western border areas, but were quickly repulsed by Chinese frontier troops.

1963

* Lei Feng, a squad leader of a transportation company of a PLA unit under the Shenyang Command, was a Communist Party member who died at his post on August 15, 1962. He is an example learnt by the people of the whole country because he served people wholeheartedly and was selfless.

* After the founding of New China, agricultural scientific research departments with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences as the core, made outstanding achievements. Jin Shanbao, vice-president of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, is an expert in wheat seed breeding. The fine variety of wheat ``Nanren--2919'' cultivated by him, is popularized in the Yangtze River area and other wheat planting areas.

* On January 2, Shanghai No. 6 Hospital successfully replanted a severed hand, creating a precedent in China. It won widespread praise in medical circles and from the Ministry of Health. Here, doctors Qian Taiqing and Chen Zhongwei, who performed the operation, study the post-operative X-ray.

* On April 25, the Ministry of Defense of China issued an order to confer the title of ``Good 8th Company on Nanjing Road'' to a PLA unit stationed in that area of Shanghai. Here, soldiers of the 8th Company return from their labor in a people's commune.

1964

* China successfully exploded its first atomic bomb in the western part of the country at 3 pm on October 16. Here is the mushroom cloud after the explosion.

* Maanshan Wheel Tyre Factory, the first factory making wheel tyres for trains in China, went into operation. Thus, China no longer depends on foreign countries in locomotive manufacture, providing a favorable condition for the development of diesel and electric locomotives in the future.

* From 1963 to 1964, scientists of Institute of Vertebrae and Palaeoanthropology of Chinese Academy of Sciences found fossils of the skull and lower jaw of early Palaeolithic man and fossils of a mammal living about 600,000 years ago in Lantian, Shaanxi Province. It is the earliest type of Palaeolithic man found in China so far and is of great scientific value. Here, research fellow Wu Rukang studies the fossils found in Lantian.

* Long Mei and Yu Rong, being honored as ``Heroine Sisters of the Grassland,'' grew up healthily under the concern of the Party. Here is a picture of Long Mei (second from right ) and Yu Rong (third from right ) taken in March 1966 at a meeting of representatives of outstanding units and workers of agriculture and animal husbandry of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

* China succeeded in tests of its first carrier rocket.

* In celebrating the 15th anniversary of the founding of People' Republic of China, Dongfanghong, a large-scale song and dance drama performed by more than 3,000 people, was performed in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. This song and dance epic, praising Chinese revolution and Mao Zedong Thought, is a new achievement in art with its revolutionary and mass character. Here is one scene, ``Great Festival.''

1965

* Thousands of outstanding workers emerged in the Daqing Oilfield after the launching of the mass movement of learning from "Iron Man'' Wang Jinxi, and working energetically for building socialism.

* The spirit of combating and remaking nature and building a new countryside of Dazhai people in Xiyang County, Shanxi Province, set an example for the people of the whole country. Foreigners from a hundred countries and regions, and about ten million people from various areas of the country, visited Dazhai. Here Chen Yonggui (front left), Party branch secretary of Dazhai Brigade, introduces their experiences to visitors.

* Turbogenerator with inner water-cooled stator and rotor is a new technique in the electrical machinery industry. The domestically-made 50,000 kW turbogenerator has achieved good economic results since going into operation.

* A total of 1.4 million spindles and related weaving, printing and dyeing equipment were built and put into operation. This year saw the largest capital construction in textile industry. Here is the newly built spun yarn workshop at the Wuhan No. 2 Cotton Mill.

* China's total synthetic crystalline bovine insulin is the first synthetic protein in the world.

1966

* Lankao County in Henan Province, located on the old course of the Yellow River, constantly suffered from natural disasters. Party secretary Jiao Yulu led the local peasants to fight against the wind and sand, saline and alkaline land and waterlogging, despite intense liver pain. He only thought of the people, not himself. He was honored as a good student of Chairman Mao. A vigorous mass campaign for learning from Jiao Yulu unfolded after his death.

* Linxian County, Henan Province used to be arid and lacked rain. After five years of hard struggle, people there built a man-made river--the "Red Flag Canal''--successfully leading water from the Zhanghe River in the neighboring province of Shanxi into Linxian County. Here, people come to the bifurcation gate worksite of the canal to celebrate the completion of the canal.

* In the first year of the Third Five-Year Plan, China achieved a record harvest in grain and cotton since its founding, although agriculture suffered serious natural calamities. Here, new cotton piles up in a State purchasing station.

* The movement of the "great proletarian cultural revolution''engulfed the whole country in only a few months. From August 18 to November 26, Mao Zedong received 11 million red guard students and teachers from different places on eight occasions in Tiananmen Square. Here, he waves his hand to the people in the first meeting on August 8.

* On March 9, the second day of the earthquake in Xintai, Hebei Province, Premier Zhou Enlai visits the earthquake-stricken area on behalf of the Party and the State.

1967

* China successfully explodes its first hydrogen bomb in the western part of the country on June 17.

* Here, are the newly found skullcap fragments and relics of Peking Man found in Dragon Bone Hill at Zhoukoudian, southwest of Beijing.

1968

* The magnificent Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge opened to traffic on December 29. The bridge proper is a double-decked rail and highway bridge with steel trusses, connected with an approach bridge. The upper highway is 4,598 meters long and four trucks can pass across it abreast. The double-tracked railway is 6,772 meters long. The bridge connects the Tianjin-Pukou and the Nanjing-Shanghai railways as well as highways on both sides of the river.

* The first 10,000-ton ocean-going freighter, Dongfeng Freighter, designed and made by China, begins loading at night in Qingdao port ready for its maiden voyage to Japan.

1969

* The 32-ton dump truck designed and made by Shanghai Motor Vehicle Plant and Diesel Engine Plant for mines is a gift for the 20th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

* Heroic frontier guards, dealing Soviet invaders a crushing blow in the counterattack in self-defense in Zhenbao Island, Heilongjiang, keep a close watch on the enemy's movements together with militiaman.

* In the 1960s, the Chinese government sent some medical teams to African countries at their invitation. Their superb medical skills and spirit of serving people won the praise of local people. The medical workers established deep friendship with people of these countries. Here, local herdsmen are treated by Chinese medical workers in the Sahara Desert.

1970

* China successfully launched its first earth satellite, weighing 173 kg. It took 114 minutes to circle the earth and broadcast the music of "Dongfanghong'' on a frequency of 20.009 megacycles. The picture is the No.1 Dongfanghong satellite model.

* Chengdu-Kunming Railway opens to traffic.

* A large 400,000-fold electron microscope was designed and made by Shanghai Electron Optics Research Institute, with materials produced in China.

* During the 10 years of the "cultural revolution,'' literary and art circles stagnated. Only the eight "model operas'' were performed because of the influence of the slogan of "destroying feudal, bourgeois and revisionist ideologies and ousting emperors, kings, generals and ministers from the stage.'' Here, a scene from one of the "model operas'' is performed in the national day celebration parade.

* During the "cultural revolution,'' a group of medium-sized and small enterprises of textile, matches, paper-making, printing, and battery-making and power stations were built in uncultivated Nyingchi and other places in Tibet, laying a foundation for the development of local industry. In the picture, Han and Tibetan women textile workers discuss production techniques.

1971 * On October 25, the 26th United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution by an overwhelming majority restoring the full membership rights of the People's Republic of China. Here, foreign friends who attended the meeting express their warm welcome and congratulations to the Chinese delegation.

* On September 13, Lin Biao, Ye Qun, Lin Liguo and some others boarded a Trident 256 to flee abroad after their plot of an armed coup d'etat was smashed. They were killed when the plane crashed near Undurkhan in Mongolia.

1972

* Mao Zedong met Richard Nixon, president of the United States, and had a earnest and frank talk with him. Premier Zhou Enlai held talks with Nixon and a Sino-U.S. Joint Communique was issued in Shanghai, marking the resumption of normal contacts between the two countries.

* On September 29, the Sino-Japanese Joint Agreement of the two governments was signed in Beijing. It announced the ending of the abnormal state of affairs between the two countries and the normalization of the diplomatic relations between the two countries, a new page on the history of the relations of the two countries. Here Premier Zhou Enlai and Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka are exchanging copies after the signing.

* The 3rd People's Hospital attached to Shanghai No. 2 Medical College succeeded in extracorporeal circulation open heart surgery with acupuncture anesthesia on April 19, filling a gap in acupuncture anesthesia techniques.

* Beijing Petrochemical Works, a large petrochemical production base, rises on the southwest outskirts of Beijing. More than 10 refining and chemical industrial equipment went into production over a period of three years. Here, a 260-ton catalytic cracker is in the phase of integral hoisting.

* On January 6, Marshal Chen Yi, wrongly criticized and repudiated by the Lin Biao counter-revolutionary clique, died at the age of 71. Mao Zedong himself attended the memorial meeting and extended his sympathy and regards to Zhang Qian, Chen Yi's wife, and her children.

1973

* The first Sanmenxia key water control project on the middle reaches of the Yellow River was completed in 1960. In order to solve a silting problem, it was rebuilt from 1965 by China's own technical strength. The capability of water and silt release was improved, and functions of water holding, reducing the menace of ice run, and irrigation of its reservoir were normal. The newly installed low head water turbogenerator goes into operation.

* After seven years of hard work by the people of Linli County, Hunan Province, a large irrigation network including water storing, power making and irrigation was completed in Lishui. Here is one of the 14 aqueducts in the irrigation area.

* China's archaeologists found a large amount of precious relics with the help of local people. They are of important scientific value for the research of politics, economy, culture, military and friendly contacts with foreign countries of different dynasties.

1)The palace lanterns made of fine gold were unearthed from the Han tombs at Mancheng County, Hebei Province in 1968. 2) Two "jade clothes sewn with gold thread'' were unearthed in the Han tombs at Mancheng County, Hebei Province. Here is a man's clothes. 3) A silk painting (205 cm long) excavated in Western Han tombs at Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan in 1972.

* China succeeded in its first integrated circuit electronic computer with a capability of 1,000,000 calculations per second.

* Hybrid long-grained non-glutinous rice was first cultivated in China by the expert Yuan Longping.

1974

* Pits of terra-cotta figurines of warriors and horses were found near the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang in Xi'an, Shaanxi, in March. A scene of a static pottery battlefield unearthed by archaeologists opened up a magnificent prospect of Qin Shihuang fighting north and south in unifying the country. The unearthed weapons demonstrate the development of productive forces of Qin Dynasty. Here is the No.1 Pit with 6,000 pottery figurines.

* Through study and experiment, Tong Dizhou, a biologist, of Institute of Zoology of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor Niu Manjiang of Temple University in Philadelphia and his wife Zhang Baoying found that cytoplasmic messenger ribonucleic acid and nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid have induction functions in the growth and heredity of animals, thus changing their shape and properties, which is a new progress in the study of cytogenetics. Here Tong Dizhou (middle) and other biologists are watching fish used in the experiment.

* On October 4, Mao Zedong proposed to appoint Deng Xiaoping first vice-premier and PLA chief of the general staff.

1975

* On July 1, the Baoji-Chengdu Railway, China's first electric railway with an length of 669 km. opens to traffic. The picture shows a domestically-made electric locomotive used on the railway.

* China succeeded in launching its first recoverable remote sensing satellite, becoming the third country in the world with such a recovery technique.

* One female and eight male Chinese mountaineers reached the summit of Mount Qomolangma from the north side at 14:30 Beijing time on May 27, a brilliant achievement for humans to conquer nature.

* When they reached the peak, they erected a red surveyor's beacon and scientists observed and surveyed the beacon from ten different places on the mountain. They got an accurate height for Mount Qomolangma at 8,848.13 meters.

* China decided to grant special amnesty to all former prisoners of war and grant them citizenship. Here, certificates for special amnesty are issued to Huang Wei (front right), lieutenant general and commander of 12th Corps of KMT, and some others.

1976

* Premier Zhou Enlai who was loved deeply by Chinese people, died on January 8.

* Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic of China and great leader, died on September 9. A memorial meeting was held in Tiananmen Square in the afternoon of September 18 involving a million people.

* In the early morning of July 28, Tangshan was struck by an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale. The whole city was destroyed and more than 242,000 people were killed. It is the most serious earthquake of the century.

* After the earthquake, the state urgently dispatched airplanes and trains to transport more than a hundred thousand injured people to 11 provinces and cities.

* On October 24, a grand meeting was held in Beijing involving a million military personnel and civilians to celebrate the crushing of the Wang Hongwen, Zhang Chunqiao, Jiang Qing and Yao Wenyuan anti-Party clique--the Gang of Four. They dance to express their excitement.

1977

* The state decided to restore standard state college entrance examination after its abolition during the "cultural revolution.'' Here, examinees are quietly working on the test paper in a examination room in the No. 150 Middle School, Beijing, on November 10.

* Hua Luogeng (third from left), vice-president of Chinese Academy of Sciences and a mathematics research fellow, Chen Jingrun (fourth from left), a young mathematics research fellow, and Yang Le (first from right) and Zhang Guanghou (second from left), associate research fellows, attend a national science conference.

* In order to meet the requirements of aeronautics and astronautics, and the development of the national economy, the Aerodynamics Research and Development Center of China was established in Sichuan Province in 1976. Here is the 8m x 6m low-speed wind-tunnel large drive fan designed and made by the center.

1978

* The Third Plenary Session of 11th Party Central Committee was held on December 18 to 22. It decided to shift the work emphasis of the Party and State to economic construction raising the curtain of reform and opening to the outside world and socialist modernization construction with Chinese characteristics. Here is the conference hall of the Third Plenary Session.

* Heilongjiang Province, one of the grain production bases, reaped a bumper harvest for summer crops. Here is a sunning ground for wheat of a state farm.

* The famous modern writer, poet, historian, dramatist, archaeologist, paleographer and social activist Guo Moruo died on June 12 at the age of 86. He made outstanding contributions to the revolutionary cause, socialist science and education. In this picture, he is studying bronze relics of the Shang Dynasty unearthed in the Yin ruins, Anyang, when he was president of the Chinese Academy of Science.

* Beijing Zoo carried out research on artificial insemination for a panda for the first time. The panda gave birth to two babies on September 8. One of them survived, accumulating precious experiences for the protection and breeding of this rare animal.

1979 l The war against Vetnamese invasion was fought. l The 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Convened its third plenary session in December in Beijing, deciding to put China's focus on economic construction, and to initiate reform and opening-up.

1980

* From May 18 to 21, China successfully carried out a launching of a carrier rocket into a designated area of the Pacific Ocean. Here, the rocket is being launched.

* The Yuanwang ocean-going comprehensive survey ship, developed by China and manufactured by the Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard, is primarily for surveying, tracking and remote control work for carrier rockets, man-made satellites and aircraft. It is nicknamed the ``City of Sciences on the Sea.''

* Since the founding of New China, the Shanghai Animated Film Studio has formed its own unique style on the basis of national traditions. The ink and wash cartoon, paper cuts and puppet animated films it has produced have been well received by domestic audiences and have won many international awards. Here, ``Ahfanti,'' a puppet film, is being produced.

* The Chongqing Yangtze River Bridge was completed.

1981

* From November 20, 1980 to January 25, 1981, the Supreme People's Court publicly tried the 10 prime culprits of the Lin Biao and Jiang Qing counter-revolutionary cliques and pronounced them guilty. The historical, just trial declared the disgrace and failure of the Lin Biao and Jiang Qing counter-revolutionary cliques. Presiding Judge Jiang Hua, and vice-presiding judges Wu Xiuquan, Zeng Hanzhou and Huang Yukun.

* Jiang Qing , Zhang Chunqiao, Wang Hongwen and Yao Wenyuan and Chen Boda arraigned in the dock.

* Gezhouba is the first large water conservancy project on the Yangtze River, and a stair architecture facility for the Three-Gorges Water Control Project. After the completion of these two projects, the Yangtze River will have the capability of coping with the biggest flood normally occurring once in a century. The Erjiang Sluice Gate of Gezhouba played a great role in the flood season of 1981.

* On May 29, Soong Ching Ling, honorary chairman of the People's Republic of China and vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, died of illness. The leaders of the Party, government and armed forces, and domestic and foreign personalities of various circles offered their condolences, mourned and paid their last respects to her. The president of the Victoria University of Canada presents Soong Ching Ling with the certificate of the honorary Doctor of Law.

* China launched three space physical survey satellites on one carrier rocket for the first time.

1982

* In mid-October, China successfully launched a carrier rocket to a predetermined sea area from a submarine. China developed both the underwater launcher and the new-type carrier rocket itself.

* British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited China. Deng Xiaoping met with her, and proposed that the issue of Hong Kong might be solved by the adoption of the principle of ``one country, two systems.'' It was the first time that this concept was mentioned.

* China successfully launched a carrier rocket from a submerged submarine.

* For the first time, the Chinese athletes won the most gold medals at the Asian Games.

1983

* After the adoption of the system of academic degrees, institutions of higher learning in China trained, for the first time, 18 doctors on its own; and nearly 15,000 postgraduates won master's degrees, and 320,000 students won Bachelor's degrees. On May 27, a ceremony to grant doctorates and master's degrees was held at the Great Hall of the People.

* The Galaxy supercomputer capable of handling one 100 million vector operations, designed and developed by the University of National Defense Science and Technology, received State approval. The system had a strong calculation and data handling ability, thus greatly narrowing the gap with world advanced level.

* Along with the exploration and development of offshore petroleum, China's offshore petroleum equipment industry has developed at a high speed, as evidenced by this offshore drilling platform set up by the Dalian Shipyard for the Bohai Oilfield.

1984

* On December 9, the governments of the People's Republic of China and the United Kingdom signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, opening a new chapter in Hong Kong's history.

* At the 23rd Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Chinese athletes won 15 gold medals, ranking fourth. The Chinese sports delegation at the opening ceremony.

* The Chinese women volleyball team defeated the US to win the Olympic gold medal. The women players' long-cherished dream of being champions ``three times running'' finally came true.

* To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, a military review and mass parade were held in Beijing on October 1. Here, missile troops pass through Tiananmen Square.

* China successfully launched the first communications satellite in synchronous earth orbit.

1985

* On July 4, Chairman Deng Xiaoping of the Central Military Commission declared at the enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission held in Beijing that the Chinese government decided the size of the People's Liberation Army should be reduced by one million. Deng Xiaoping at the enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission and the dignified and powerful People's Liberation Army of China.

* The Antarctic Great Wall Station, the first scientific survey and experiment base of China in the polar region, went into operation, marking a new stage of China's research, and laying a foundation for strengthening international exchange and cooperation, and bringing benefits to the people by using the South Pole in a peaceful way. On February 20, the First Antarctic/Polar Survey Team holds the inauguration ceremony of the Great Wall Station on George Island.

* South Jiangsu, located in the Yangtze River Delta and by the Taihu Lake, is known as the ``star of the Chinese township enterprises.'' About 60 percent of the rural laborers here were transferred to the industrial sector; and its non-agricultural output value greatly exceeded agricultural output value. This is a workshop of the General Woolen Mill of Heshi Township, Changshu City. The mill's annual output value reaches 53 million yuan, and it is the designated mill of the Textile Bureau of Jiangsu Province.

* To meet the needs of the development of international trade, the China International Exhibition Center was built in Beijing. The Fourth Asian-Pacific Region International Trade Fair was held here.

* On June 4, Deng Xiaoping declared that the Chinese government had decided to cut the army by one million.

1986

* Scientists who made outstanding contributions to the development of China's high technology: Wang Daheng (first right), Wang Ganchang (third right), Yang Jiachi (fourth right) and Chen Fangyun (second right). They are the founder of the ``863'' plan for the study of the development of China's high technology.

* China established an independent aviation industrial system and was able to produce five kinds of airplanes for civil use. The Xi'an Aircraft Factory successfully developed ``Yunqi'' passenger planes, which received government approval for batch production.

* Wu Hengxing, a famous tumor medical expert, is one of the founder of China's oncology research. He made pioneering and outstanding contributions to the prevention and cure of tumors in China. The World Anti-Cancer Federation and the king of Belgium granted him important prizes and medals. Here, the French ambassador presents him with a medal on behalf of President Mitterand.

* Lu Guanqiu is a famous entrepreneur of township enterprises of Zhejiang Province. Thanks to his hard study and work, the Hangzhou Carbon Joint Factory under his leadership produces automobile joints, which have been well received internationally. He thus became a famous person during the reform and opening to the outside world.

1987

* On April 13, the Joint Declaration on the Question of Macao by the Governments of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Portugal was formally signed in Beijing. The Joint Declaration includes the formulation: ``The Government of the People's Republic of China will resume sovereignty over Macao effective December 20, 1999.'' At the signing ceremony, Deng Xiaoping and the premier of Portugal raise their cups to congratulate each other.

* Yuan Longping (middle), who won the special invention award of the State Science and Technology Commission and the UNESCO science award, made an important contribution to China's study and development of long-grained non-glutinous hybrid rice.

* In May the largest forest conflagration of the past 40 years broke out in the Greater Hinggan Mountains, causing serious losses. Under the leadership of the State Council and the relevant departments, more than 50,000 soldiers and civilians fought against the fire for 25 days before extinguishing it.

* The 13th National Congress of the CPC was convened from October 25 to November 1. At the congress, the report titled `Marching Forward Along the Socialist Road with Chinese Characteristics'' was adopted.

1988

* Thanks to the efforts in the last four years, the electron-positron collider was completed and put on line on October 16. It is another important breakthrough by China in the high-energy physics research field. In the ``Beijing spectrometer,'' the heart of the collider, there is the main floating room in the shape of a large round pillar, which is used to survey the traces and amount of charged particles.

* In the 20 years after its founding, the China Space Flight Medical Engineering Institute made 455 scientific research achievements, of which the ``Space Flight Life Guarantee System Medical Engineering Research and Application'' won the first national price for the progress in science and technology. Here, astro-navigation scientists carry out physiological experiments.

* At the ``1988 International Competition of Today's New Models'' held in Italy, Peng Li, a Chinese girl of 19, came first. She is the first fashion model of China to win an international championship.

* The Gezhouba Water Conservancy Project over the Yangtze River was completed.

* On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, some Japanese youth came to the Memorial Hall of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Invasion by the Marco Polo Bridge near Beijing. They held high the banner pledging never to launch war again to express both the Chinese and Japanese peoples' wish for being friends for generations.

1989

* In May, Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader of the Party and government of the former Soviet Union, came to China to resume normal state relations with China.

* The Fourth Plenary Session of the 13th Party Central Committee was convened from June 23 to 24 decided to dismiss Zhao Ziyang from all his posts in the Party and elected Jiang Zemin general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

* On November 9 Deng Xiaoping withdrew from his leading posts at the Fifth Plenary Session of the CPC 13th National Congress. He played a decisive role in the smooth transition from the second-generation leading collective of the CPC Central Committee to the third-generation leading collective with Comrade Jiang Zemin as the core.

* From November 1988 to February 1989, the Chinese Antarctic Survey Team entered the Antarctic Circle for the first time in the ship ``Jidi,'' thus opening a new chapter in China's scientific survey of the region. These are members of the survey team who are the first to reach the newly built Antarctic Station of China.

* Fiber-optic telecommunications is an advanced modern information transmission means. China started research in the 1970s, and has mastered the technologies for producing optical fibers, cable, optical and electronic terminal machines. Optical fiber wire-drawing production techniques are shown here.

* China is a country with a big population. Constantly improving the people's housing conditions has been one something to which the Chinese government has attached great importance. Beijing has constructed more than 100 living quarters. This is the Tuanjiehu residential area.

1990

* ``Light of the Asian Games,'' the torch of sacred fire kindled from the Nyainqentanglha Mountains in Tibet, was relayed from the four Chinese cities of Lhasa, Urumqi, Harbin and Haikou. The four torch relays reached Tiananmen Square on the evening of September 20 after having passed through 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.

* On September 22, the 11th Asian Games were opened in Beijing. The Chinese athletes won 183 gold medals at the games, ranking first. This is a bird's-eye view of the Beijing Workers Stadium, the main games' site, with the sacred fire lit. At the center is the emblem of the games formed by group calisthenics.

* China successfully launched the domestically developed Changzhen II binding-type carrier rocket with improved thrust.

* The Beijing electron-position collider was accepted by the State, with its functions reaching the advanced international level.

* The Division of Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences directly discovered the new structures of desoxyribose for the first time in the world.

* On December 19, the first securities exchange of Shanghai started business. This is the business hall of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Center.

* The people of Zhongcun Village in Maqiao Township of Shanghai County became well off after having changed the single agricultural economy, and engaged in the simultaneous development of agriculture, industry and side-line production. Well-equipped new residential buildings were built one after another.

1991

* On December 15, the Qinshan Nuclear Power Station, designed, built and installed by China itself, started to generate electricity, with a capability of supplying 1.5 billion kwh of electricity to east China annually. This is the modernized control room.

* The First World Martial Arts Championships was held in October in Beijing. More than 400 martial arts athletes from 41 countries and regions in the world participated in the competitions. This important event showed that the martial arts of China were marching toward the world. This is a scene from the opening ceremony.

1992

* From mid-January to the Spring Festival, Comrade Deng Xiaoping inspected the Shenzhen and Zhuhai special economic zones of Guangdong Province, as well as Shanghai and other places. During his inspection, he delivered a series of important speeches on deepening reform and opening to the outside world. Deng Xiaoping and his party visit the Yangpu Bridge of Shanghai under construction.

* In October, the 14th National Congress of the CPC was held in Beijing. The congress decided that the objective of China's economic restructuring was to set up the socialist market economic system, and established the guiding position of Deng Xiaoping's theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics in the whole party. At the congress, Jiang Zemin, Li Peng, Qiao Shi, Li Ruihuan, Zhu Rongji, Liu Huaqingand Hu Jintao were elected members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau, and Jiang Zemin, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

* The Galaxy-II supercomputer system capable of handling one billion vector operations was successfully developed.

* At the 25th Olympic Games, Chinese athletes won 16 gold medals, 22 silver medals and 16 bronze medals, ranking fourth in both the number of golds and the total number of medals.

* The adoption of the policy of reform and opening to the outside world has accelerated the rapid development of China's rural social economy. The State Statistical Bureau selected 100 top counties of the country in terms of rural comprehensive strength. A scene of the Xigang Road in Wuxi County, Jiangsu Province, which ranks first in the 100 top counties.

* The Chinese auto industry develops rapidly with the output in 1992 hitting 1.08 million. While meeting the domestic demands, the auto factories in China are working hard to produce more automobiles for export. Cherokee jeeps produced by the Beijing Jeep Co. Ltd. are here being loaded on a ship.

* Xi Zhenguan, president of the Gansu Dunhuang Art Theater, successfully interpreted the music scores preserved in the vault for keeping Buddhist scriptures in Mogao Grottoes after 10-year study, and presented them on stage. ``Dunhuang Ancient Music'' integrates poems, music and dances into one, thus enabling modern people to appreciate the ancient music and dances of the Tang Dynasty. Beautiful dances of ``Dunhuang Ancient Music.''

1993

* The First Session of the Eighth National Congress was held from March 15 to 31 in Beijing, at which Jiang Zemin was elected president of the People's Republic of China, Qiao Shi, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress, and Jiang Zemin, chairman of the Central Military Commission. Li Peng was chosen as prime minister of the State Council.

* From April 27 to 29 Wang Daohan, chairman of the China Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, and Koo Chen-fu, chairman of the Taiwan's Foundation for Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits, held talks in Singapore.

* On November 20 President Jiang Zemin attended the informal meeting of the leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation held in Seattle.

* The Tenth Panchen Erdeni Qoigyi Gyaincain, an outstanding leader of the Tibet Buddhism, passed away on January 28, 1989 in Tibet. The inauguration ceremony for the Sasum Namgyal Memorial Hall for the stupa of the Tenth Panchen was held on September 4, 1993. The remains of the Tenth Panchen Lama are being welcomed to the hall.

* The Sasum Namgyal Memorial Hall for the stupa of the Tenth Panchen covers an area of 1,933 square meters. The gold stupa pagoda in the hall is 11.55 meters high, inlaid with 868 precious stones, ranking first in the stupa pagodas of the past Panchen Lamas.

* The Yangpu Bridge of Shanghai was opened to traffic. The bridge across the Huangpu River is 7,658 meters long, and the main span is 602 meters, greatly exceeding the original world bridge records, becoming the ``No.1 stayed-cable bridge in the world.''

* After 1988, Professor Zhang Lizhu of the First Hospital attached to the Beijing Medical College and his assistants cultivated healthy test tube babies for many sterile couples. Two years later, thanks to their efforts, the first freeze-thaw embryonic test tube baby was born on the mainland. Newly born twin test tube babies.

* The economic structural reform and the measures of complementing and promoting agriculture with industry made Huaxi Village in Jiangyin City, Jiangsu Province, become better-off in a short period of time. A village with a population of over 1,000 villagers has 250 cars.

1994

* On December 14, the construction of the world-renowned Three-Gorges Water Conservancy Project over the Yangtze River formally started. The ceremony was held at Sandouping in Yichang County, Hubei Province. Premier Li Peng and Vice-Premier Zou Jiahua unveiled the foundation stone.

* The sketch map of the Three-Gorge Water Conservancy Project over the Yangtze River.

* Changzheng II E binding-type carrier rocket developed by China successfully launches for Australia two telecommunications satellites developed by the United States into their predetermined orbit, thus gaining China admission to the international satellite launching market.

* At the 25th International Physics Olympics in Beijing, five Chinese middle-school students won four gold medals, and one silver, and ranked first in the team's total scores. Yang Liang of 18 won the first place in personal scores. The picture shows the Chinese contestants: Yang Liang, Han Yan, Rao Jingxiang, Tian Tao and Huang Ying.

* The Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Company is the largest thin plank production center. Thanks to its great achievements, it was approved for listing on overseas stock markets, thus formally getting onto the market economy track. This is the No.5 blast furnace of the Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Company with a capability of producing 2.4 million tons of pig iron annually.

1995

* On November 16, the Beijing-Kowloon Railway, the largest railway project of China at the end of this century with a total length of 2,370 kilometers, was opened to traffic. People here celebrate the laying of the last section of rails.

* In autumn, China successfully held the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. Women delegates from different countries pose in front of the Great Hall of the People.

* Today, the Chinese people know well how to keep fit and live a happy life. Along with the popularization of the health-building movement, men and women, the old and young, can be seen everywhere in urban parks doing exercises and dancing in the morning. It is the most attractive scene on urban streets.

* ``The National Soul of China,'' a large fashion show of the 1995 China International Fashion Fair, was first performed at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Colorful costumes display the long and great cultures of all ethnic groups in China.

1996

* According to historical conventions and Tibetan Buddhist rituals, the 11th Panchen Erdeni Gyantsen Norpo, who was confirmed as the reincarnated soul boy of the preceding Panchen Lama after drawing lots from the golden urn, was enthroned at the Tashilhungpo Monastery in Xigaze on December 8, 1995. He received a warm welcome and congratulations from monks and laymen.

* On January 12, the 11th Panchen and the Thanks-Expressing Delegation of the Tashilhungpo Monastery met President Jiang Zemin at Zhongnanhai in Beijing and presented him with a khatag.

* Tangshan, an important industrial city in North China which ruined in a disastrous earthquake 20 years ago, finally built up a brand new city thanks to the concern and help of the Chinese government and the local people's efforts. Tangshan won the ``Residence Honorary Prize'' owing to their outstanding contributions to the development of human residential areas. It is the center of New Tangshan City and the Anti-Earthquake Memorial Monument.''

* The First China International Aeronautics and Astronautics Fair was successfully held in the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone, which attracted more than 700,000 domestic and foreign visitor. Thanks to efforts over 40-odd years, the Chinese aeronautics industry has entered the world market. This is the exhibition area of the China Aeronautics Industrial Corporation.

* At the 26th World Olympic Games, Wang Junxia, a medium- and long-distance runner known as the ``Magic Deer of the East'', earned a gold medal in the women's 5,000-meters, and a silver medal in the 10,000-meters. She won honor for the motherland once again.

1997

* On February 20 Deng Xiaoping, the general architect of China's reform and opening to the outside world, passed away in Beijing. On February 24, when the hearse with his remains was moving toward the crematorium, more than 100,000 masses standing by the roads saw him off with deep love.

* From September 12 to 18, the 15th National Congress of the CPC was held in Beijing, at which Jiang Zemin's report entitled Holding High the Banner of Deng Xiaoping Theory to Carry the Socialist Cause with Chinese Characteristics into the 21st Century in an All-Round Way was adopted.

* At zero hour of July 1, the ceremony for handing over political power of Hong Kong between the Chinese and British governments was solemnly held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. This is the site for the hand-over ceremony.

* During the deepening of reform and opening the outside world, Shanghai, a new key construction point and the ``dragon head of the Yangtze Economic belt, is changing with each passing day.

* President Jiang Zemin visited the United States. President Clinton at the welcoming ceremony held in front of the White House.

1998

* In March 1998 the leaders of a new term office of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) were elected. Jiang Zemin was elected state president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, Li Peng, chairman of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC, Zhu Rongji, premier of the State Council, and Li Ruihuan, chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC.

* In summer, extremely serious floods attacked the valleys of the Yangtze, Nenjiang and Songhua rivers. Soldiers and officers of the People's Liberation Army and armed forces, and local people, totaling 180,000, combated the floods and went to the rescue. Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians heroically block a burst on the embankment of the Jiujiang section along the Yangtze River in Jiangxi Province.

* The water of the Wuhan section along the Yangtze River reached the second highest level ever recorded. After repeated trials of strength with several flood peaks, the local people finally triumphed without damage to the embankments.

* Shenzhen, as a window leading the country in opening to the outside world and an experimental city of the socialist market economy, has achieved world-renowned achievements and summed up many beneficial experiences. Today, it still symbolizes China's reform and opening to the outside world.

* Beijing University, a comprehensive university which enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad, celebrated its 100th birthday. This university represents the highest level of China's higher education. Students who have just received their master's and doctoral degrees have their pictures taken on the campus.

* On June 27, President Jiang Zemin held a ceremony outside the eastern gate of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to welcome US President Bill Clinton.

1999

* After Hong Kong returned to the motherland, the Chinese government will resume sovereignty over Macao effective December 20, 1999. To welcome this national grand occasion, a countdown board was set up in front of the Museum of the Chinese History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. The board's unveiling ceremony on May 5, 1998.

* Thanks to the adoption of the policy of reform and opening to the outside world, the Chinese economy has increased in a sustained way, people's livelihood has improved remarkably, and both buying and selling are brisk. This shopping center in Beijing attracts an endless stream of customers.

* The 22nd International Horticultural Exposition opened in Kunming on April 30, 1999. Through colorful and varied gardens and horticulture, this exposition displays to the world a beautiful painting scroll of the harmonious relations between ``human beings and the nature.'' This exposition will further promote the mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation among the peoples of all the countries and write a new chapter of ``human beings respecting nature, and protecting ecology.''This is a scene from the opening ceremony. Afterwards, a large song-and-dance performance ``The Romantic Music of Heaven and Earth'' offered the audiences art enjoyment with magic laser stage effects and beautiful ethnic minority dances.

* On May 15, 1999 Ho Hua-wah was elected as the first chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR). He is the first candidate for the chief executive of the MSAR elected by the Macao people themselves. On May 20 Premier Zhu Rongji signed No.264 Decree of the State Council, for his appointment. On May 24 President Jiang Zemin meets Ho Hua-wah.

* On May 8, 1999, the US-led NATO outrageously attacked the Chinese embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with missiles, causing injuries and deaths and seriously damaging the embassy building. This act in violation of international laws and the norms for international relations incurred the great wrath of the Chinese people. On the morning of the very day the Chinese government published a solemn statement, sternly denouncing the barbarous acts of NATO, saying it must bear full responsibility. China also decided that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should arrange an urgent meeting with the ambassador of the United States in China to raise the strongest protest; and required the UN Security Council hold an urgent meeting to discuss and denounce the barbarous act of NATO headed by the United States. China took all measures to rescue injured people, and sent a special plane to Belgrade to transport the staff back to China. In a statement, the Chinese government expressed solemnly its stand that China reserved the right to take further measures.

* 0ctober 1 this year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China(PRC). Grand and warm celebration activities will be held in the capital city of Beijing. The activities will exhibit the tremendous changes that have taken place over the past 50 years, especially the great achievements since the introduction of reform, opening and the modernization drive, and demonstrate the political stability, economic progress, national unity, social progress and the rising international status of China. The events will also feature the high spirits of the Chinese people of all nationalities in greeting the new century, and encourage them to advance the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics into the 21st century.