The North China Military Exercise (

simplified Chinese Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to: Mathematics Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one, that is simpler (usually shorter), for example * Simplification of algebraic expressions, ...

: 华北大演习;

traditional Chinese A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays ...

: 華北大演習) was a massive military exercise carried out by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in North China from September 14 to 18, 1981. With the participation of more 114,000 soldiers, it was the largest military exercise conducted by the PLA since the founding of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in 1949.

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CCP ...

, then

paramount leader of China Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important political figure in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA), often ho ...

and

Chairman of the Central Military Commission Chairman of the Central Military Commission may refer to: *Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China) *Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea See also *Secretary of the Central Military Commission of the ...

, attended and observed the entire exercise along with other senior officials.

History

From October 1980 to March 1981,

determined that a military exercise was necessary for the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and chose the largest version in terms of exercise scale from the three proposed plans. The details of arrangement and organization were left to the

Beijing Military Region The Beijing Military Region was one of seven military regions for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. From the mid 1980s to 2017, it had administration of all military affairs within Beijing city, Tianjin city, Hebei province, Shanxi province, ...

. On March 12, 1981, a central committee for the exercise was established, with

Yang Dezhi Yang Dezhi (; January 13, 1911 – October 25, 1994) was a Chinese general and politician. He was senior military officer in the North China (or 5th) Field Army, a veteran of the Korean War and commander in China during the Sino–Vietnamese ...

, then PLA Chief-of-Staff, being the director of the committee; Yang Yong, Zhang Zhen and

Qin Jiwei Qin Jiwei (; 16 November 1914 – 2 February 1997) was a general of the People's Republic of China, Minister of National Defense and a member of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo. Qin Jiwei was born to a poor peasant family in Huang'an (now ...

were appointed the vice directors. In September 1981, Deng Xiaoping attended and observed the military exercise along with other senior officials including

Hu Yaobang Hu Yaobang (; 20 November 1915 – 15 April 1989) was a high-ranking official of the People's Republic of China. He held the top office of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1981 to 1987, first as Chairman from 1981 to 1982, then as Gene ...

Zhao Ziyang Zhao Ziyang ( zh, 赵紫阳; pronounced , 17 October 1919 – 17 January 2005) was a Chinese politician. He was the third premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987, vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 19 ...

and

Li Xiannian Li Xiannian (pronounced ; 23 June 1909 – 21 June 1992) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, President of the People's Republic of China (''de jure'' head of state) from 1983 to 1988 under Paramount Leader Deng Xiaoping and t ...

. A total of over 32,000 military and governmental officials observed the exercise. Specifically, 114,000 PLA soldiers participated in the exercise, in addition to 1,327

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

s and

armored vehicles Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or f ...

, 1,541

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

s, 475 airplanes as well as 10,606 army trucks. The exercised was funded by the State Council of the People's Republic of China, and accounted for 1/16 of China's military expenditures of that year. On September 19, 1981, a large-scale

military parade A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the la ...

took place after the exercise at the airport of

Zhangjiakou Zhangjiakou (; ; ) also known as Kalgan and by several other names, is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hebei province in Northern China, bordering Beijing to the southeast, Inner Mongolia to the north and west, and Shanxi to the south ...

, where Deng Xiaoping delivered a closing speech.

References

{{Reflist People's Liberation Army Military history of the People's Republic of China History of Zhangjiakou 1981 in China