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National Day of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国国庆节), celebrated annually on October 1, commemorates the historic founding of the nation at the Tiananmen Rostrum in Beijing in 1949. Spanning a statutory three-day public holiday that expands through scheduled compensation workdays (tiaoxiu) into the seven-day National Day Golden Week (十一黄金周), October 1 is the definitive milestone of Chinese civic identity, national pride, and massive autumn family reunions across China and the worldwide Chinese diaspora.
The sovereign founding of modern China occurred at 3:00 PM on 1 October 1949, atop the Tiananmen Gate (天安门城楼) in central Beijing. Chairman Mao Zedong, joined by Premier Zhou Enlai, Commander-in-Chief Zhu De, and leaders of the Central People's Government, formally proclaimed the birth of the People's Republic of China before an assembly of more than 300,000 citizens in Tiananmen Square.
A widespread common misconception among international observers is that the military parade on October 1 marks the military conclusion of the civil conflict, or that the nation celebrates its Constitution on this day. In reality, modern China's National Day marks the inaugural administrative establishment of the Central People's Government and the hoisting of the first national Five-star Red Flag. Today, the eve of National Day on September 30 is anchored by the formal State Council Reception in the Grand Banquet Hall of the Great Hall of the People (人民大会堂), gathering thousands of foreign diplomats, scientists, and model workers for celebratory toasts.
Under the National Holiday Regulations promulgated by the State Council of the People's Republic of China, National Day carries three official statutory paid holiday days: October 1, October 2, and October 3.
Through China's nationwide statutory shift system known as Tiaoxiu (调休), the State Council bridges these three statutory days with the preceding and following weekends, creating the uninterrupted seven-day National Day Golden Week (十一黄金周) running from October 1 through October 7. To balance national working hours, employees work on designated compensatory weekend days immediately before or after the holiday. This synchronized public holiday sparks over 800 million domestic passenger trips across high-speed rail networks, civil aviation hubs, and toll-free national expressways.
The ceremonial epicenter of China's National Day is Tiananmen Square (天安门广场) in the heart of Beijing. At dawn on October 1, more than 150,000 citizens and travelers from across all 34 provincial-level administrative regions gather in the crisp autumn air to witness the solemn sunrise flag-raising ceremony.
The PLA Honor Guard and Military Band (中国人民解放军仪仗司礼大队) march from beneath the portrait of Mao Zedong, crossing the central arch of the Golden Water Bridge with precisely 96 ceremonial guards performing 138 synchronized goose-steps. As the national anthem March of the Volunteers resounds, the Five-star Red Flag ascends the 30-meter mast in exactly 2 minutes and 7 seconds, accompanied by the release of 10,000 peace doves. Anchoring the square is the monumental 18-meter Blessing the Motherland (祝福祖国) floral basket, filled with giant handcrafted peonies, magnolias, and bountiful grain stalks symbolizing national peace and agricultural abundance.
Beyond official political ceremonies, National Day in China is steeped in authentic family and culinary traditions that celebrate health, longevity, and familial unity across communities:
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China National Day 2027 is scheduled for October 1, 2027. The countdown timer at the top of the page updates the days remaining in real time.
On 1 October 1949, Chairman Mao Zedong chose the historic Tiananmen Rostrum (Gate of Heavenly Peace) in Beijing because it historically represented the southern entry to the imperial palace complex and faced the expansive Tiananmen Square. Standing on the balcony alongside Central People's Government leaders, he announced the founding of the People's Republic of China and pressed the electronic button that raised the first Five-star Red Flag while the newly adopted national anthem was played by the military band.
In September 1999, the State Council of the People's Republic of China amended the National Holidays Regulations to expand statutory National Day leave to three full days (October 1, 2, and 3). By bridging the statutory days with adjacent weekend days through scheduled compensation workdays (调休, 'tiaoxiu'), the government created the continuous seven-day National Day Golden Week (十一黄金周) to encourage domestic tourism, stimulate consumer commerce, and allow migrant workers across China to return home for family reunions.
At sunrise every October 1, the PLA Honor Guard and Military Band (中国人民解放军仪仗司礼大队) march through the central arch of Tiananmen Gate across the Golden Water Bridges (金水桥). Precisely 96 ceremonial guards perform 138 steps from the bridge to the national flagpole, symbolizing the 9.6 million square kilometers of Chinese territory. As the flag reaches the top of the 30-meter pole in exactly 2 minutes and 7 seconds, thousands of peace doves are released over Tiananmen Square as spectators sing March of the Volunteers.
The nationwide custom of eating National Day Longevity Noodles (国庆吃面 / 国庆长寿面) stems from the traditional Chinese cultural belief that unbroken noodles symbolize longevity, health, and uninterrupted good fortune. On October 1, civic centers, schools, and families prepare steaming bowls of regional noodles—such as Beijing zhajiangmian, Lanzhou pulled noodles, or Shanxi sliced noodles—under the cultural slogan 'Eat a bowl of longevity noodles, bless the motherland' (吃碗长寿面，祝福新中国).
On the evening of September 30, the State Council hosts the formal National Day Reception in the Grand Banquet Hall of the Great Hall of the People (人民大会堂) on the western edge of Tiananmen Square. Attended by top state leadership, foreign ambassadors, model workers, and overseas Chinese dignitaries, the Premier of the State Council delivers an address reviewing national economic, scientific, and geopolitical achievements before proposing a ceremonial toast to national prosperity.
Every National Day season since 2011, Beijing municipal landscaping engineers erect an 18-meter-tall monumental flower basket centerpiece titled 'Blessing the Motherland' (祝福祖国) in the center of Tiananmen Square. The steel-supported basket is filled with giant simulated peonies, magnolias, hibiscus, and auspicious Chinese grains (rice, millet, wheat, beans, corn) representing national abundance, peace, and the harmonious prosperity of the Chinese nation.
By State Council tradition, the People's Republic of China organizes grand national military parades (阅兵式) along Chang'an Avenue primarily on decennial (every ten-year) milestones, such as the 50th, 60th, and 70th anniversaries. These parades feature thousands of PLA troops marching in goose-step precision, high-tech indigenous weaponry—including hypersonic gliders, stealth fighter jets, and intercontinental ballistic systems—accompanied by mass civilian pageantry floats celebrating industrial and scientific triumphs.
Under the Ministry of Transport's Major Holiday Free Bus and Small Passenger Car Toll Exemption Policy, passenger vehicles with seven seats or fewer are exempt from expressway tolls throughout the entire seven-day Golden Week. Implemented to facilitate personal road travel and stimulate regional economic activity, this toll-free policy leads to hundreds of millions of vehicular road trips between major metropolitan corridors like Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Greater Bay Area.