The National Day Parade (), officially the National Day of the People's Republic of China Parade (), is a civil-

military parade A military parade is a formation of military personnels whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as Drill team, drilling or marching. Large military parades are today held on major holidays and military events around the ...

event held at

Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square () is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen ("''Gate of Heavenly Peace''") located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains th ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, the capital of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, on the

National Day of the People's Republic of China National Day ( zh, s=国庆节, t=, p=guóqìng jié, l=national celebration day, links=yes), officially the National Day of the People's Republic of China (), is a public holiday in China celebrated annually on 1 October as the national da ...

on 1 October. It is organized by the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

, the

People's Armed Police ) , abbreviation = PAP ("People's Armed Police") CAPF ("Chinese Armed Police Force"), formerly abbreviated''Wujing'' ( zh , s = 武警 , p = Wǔjǐng , l = Armed Police , labels = no ), or WJ as on vehicle license plates , patch ...

and the

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

, as well as civilian groups of the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP). It has been held every decade since 1959, annually from 1950 to 1959, and has been broadcast live on

China Central Television China Central Television (CCTV) is the State media, national television broadcaster of China, established in 1958. CCTV is operated by the National Radio and Television Administration which reports directly to the Publicity Department of th ...

since 1984. The most recent National Day parade took place on October 1, 2019, on the

70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China The 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China () was observed with a series of ceremonial events including a grand military parade as its spotlight to celebrate National Day of the People's Republic of China, National ...

Overview

China 10th Anniversary Parade in Beijing 01

Since the parade of 1950, parades have been held on the city's Tiananmen Square to mark the anniversary of the official foundation of the PRC. These are now held every 10th year, a format which began in 1999 to mark the golden jubilee anniversary of nationhood. Formerly there were yearly parades held until 1959 when the CCP decided that the holiday would be celebrated "with frugality". Parades were also held in 1964, 1966, 1969, 1970 and 1984. The parade is presided by the

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

in his political duty as

General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party The general secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party ( zh, s=中国共产党中央委员会总书记, p=Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Wěiyuánhuì Zǒngshūjì) is the leader of the Chinese Communist Part ...

and constitutional mandate as the supreme commander of the PLA and chairman of the Central Military Commission, since 1984. He has also inspected the parade in person. The parade commander is a general officer of the PLA with the rank of Lieutenant General or Major General, with the position of commander of the Central Theater Command or as a high-ranking member of the CMC's present 15 departments. Until 1959, during the years that the parade was held in a nationalized form of the Soviet tradition, the parade was inspected by the Minister of National Defense, a high-ranking billet occupied by either a General or (before 1984) a Marshal (before 1954 the Commander in Chief of the PLA). The event's master of ceremonies has either been the Party Committee Secretary of Beijing or a high-ranking member of the Central Committee, CCP.

Parade events

Opening of the parade

At 10 a.m. the massed

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...

s of the People's Liberation Army sound the Welcome March, signifying the official commencement of the ceremony. As the paramount leader arrives, he is joined by the following on the rostrum on the Tiananmen Gate: * Premier of the State Council of the PRC * Chairmen of both the Standing Committees of the

National People's Congress The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...

and the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s United front (China), united front system. Its members adv ...

* High-ranking officials of the Politburo Standing Committee and the other departments under the Central Committee, CCP * Vice President of the PRC * Vice Premiers of the State Council of the PRC * Vice Chairmen of the

Central Military Commission Central Military Commission may refer to: *Central Military Commission (China), the highest national defense organization in the People's Republic of China. *Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the highest body in Vietnam ...

and members of the departments of the Commission * Chief Justice of the

Supreme People's Court The Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China (SPC) is the highest court of the People's Republic of China. It hears appeals of cases from the high people's courts and is the trial court for cases about matters of national ...

* Prosecutor General of the

Supreme People's Procuratorate The Supreme People's Procuratorate of the People's Republic of China (SPP) is the highest national agency responsible for legal prosecution and prosecutorial investigation in China. The SPP reports to the National People's Congress (NPC). The P ...

* State Councilors * Vice Chairmen of the Standing Committee of the NPC and the National Committee of the CPPCC * Secretaries of the

Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party The Secretariat, officially the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is a body serving the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s Politburo and Standing Committee. The secretariat is mainly responsible for carrying out ...

* Retired leaders of the party and the Republic * Representatives of both the NPC and CPPCC, including party faction leaders and leaders of CPPCC organizational factions * Ministers of the State Council and heads of national government agencies with ministerial status * Members of the diplomatic corps and any foreign heads of state and/or governments present if any * Representatives of the private sector, state-owned national and regional companies and people's organizations * If available, provincial governors, city mayors and heads of the Party provincial and municipal committees and regional-level legislatures In past parades a card stunt display was assembled at the square grounds made up of thousands of young men and women from the capital and from various parts of the country (abolished 2015), while student

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

s of the

Young Pioneers of China Young Pioneers of China ( zh, s=中国少年先锋队, p=Zhōngguó Shàonián Xiānfēngduì), often shortened to Young Pioneers ( zh, s=少先队, p=Shàoxiānduì) or Red Pioneers, is a mass youth organization for children aged six to fourte ...

are assembled in the sides of the Massed Bands, led by the Senior Director of Music of the PLA Military Bands Service, made up of around 1,900 male and female bandsmen from the service branches from military bands stationed nationwide. The Pioneer Battalions carry the red battalion colours which can be seen in front of their respective contingents. The flag raising ceremony follows the arrivals, but unlike the normal ceremony the color guard company, as a 21-gun salute is fired by the gunners of the State Honors Artillery Battery of the Beijing Garrison Command, marches off from the sides of the Monument to the People's Heroes, forms up, and takes its place at the center of the grounds nearest the Massed Bands, with the

Flag of China The national flag of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Five-star Red Flag, is a Chinese red field with five golden stars charged at the canton. The design features one large star, with four smaller stars in an arc set off t ...

now being placed into the flagpole by the color officer, who has just been given the color from the color guard. The segment was introduced in 1999 as a reenactment of sorts of the raising of the national flag in the square in 1949. With that concluded and the card stunt now in position, the master of ceremonies gives the announcement on the microphone: ''Ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the raising of the national flag and the singing of the National Anthem!'' By then, the color officer now orders the salute and the massed bands play the National Anthem

March of the Volunteers The "March of the Volunteers", originally titled the "March of the Anti-Manchukuo Counter-Japan Volunteers", is the official national anthem of the People's Republic of China since 1978. Unlike historical Chinese anthems, previous Chinese stat ...

as the color company presents arms, after the anthem is played the color company orders arms and stands at ease.

Inspection of the parade

As the armed linemen of the Beijing Capital Garrison take their places, the paramount leader then descends to the grounds of the Tiananmen Gate via the elevator and rides on an open top

Hongqi L5 The Hongqi Guoli (), formerly known as the Hongqi L5, is a large neo-retro full-size luxury sedan produced by Chinese automobile manufacturer Hongqi, a subsidiary of FAW Group since 2014, whose design was inspired by the discontinued Hongqi ...

for the inspection segment, with around 4,000 to 16,000 military personnel of the PLA, PAP and militia formations assembled by battalions, as well as the 9,000 strong personnel of the mobile column with around 400-900 vehicles. As he arrives at the front of the gate at the

Chang'an Avenue file:50th anniversary of PRC 1.jpg, 250px, Chang'an Avenue hosts military parades. Here are armoured fighting vehicles leaving Tian'anmen Square during the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, 1999 National Day parade. Chang'an ...

, the parade commander (until 2017 the Commander of 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, ...

and from 2017 the Central Theater Command) arrives in a similar limousine to inform the paramount leader of the commencement of the inspection of the parade. The report done, the paramount leader, as the Massed bands play, then inspects the formations, each of its leaders ordering a salute as he passes by and the battalions each present arms (eyes right for unarmed formations and the port arms when using modern rifles), after which they stand at attention. Since 1984 the regular honor guard companies of the

Beijing Garrison Honor Guard Battalion The Beijing Garrison Honor Guard Battalion (), officially the PLA Honour Guard, is a ceremonial Guard of honour, honour guard and specialised unit of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). It is composed of representatives of the People's Liberation ...

(since 2015 the final company is a women's company) together with its national colour guard unit are the first in line for the inspection segment of the parade. Whenever the paramount leader passes by an assembled militia or battalion, the soldiers will salute, and the paramount leader will greet the soldiers by saying ''"Hello, comrades!"'' (同志们好!) or ''" hank you for yourhard work, comrades!"'' (同志们辛苦了!) The soldiers respond saying ''"Hello, Mr.

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

!"'' (主席好!) or ''" e

serve the people "Serve the People" () is a political slogan and the motto of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It originates from the title of a speech by Mao Zedong, delivered in September 1944. The slogan became popular in the United States due to the strong ...

!"'' (为人民服务!) Following the inspection, the paramount leader returns to the

Tiananmen Gate The Tiananmen , also Tian'anmen, is the entrance gate of the Forbidden City imperial palace complex and Imperial City in the center of Beijing, China. It is widely used as a national symbol. First built in 1420 during the Ming dynasty, Ti ...

to give the national keynote holiday address, at the same time the commander takes his place in the gate as well and the parade formations are now formed in review order as the mobile column now forms up in addition to the flypast. In the 2019 parade, the order was reversed, this time the paramount leader gives the opening keynote address before departing from the gate for the parade inspection.

Military parade proper

The order ''Commence the parade!'' from the parade commander atop Tiananmen Gate is the signal for the parade formation to march past the gate, wherein the dignitaries are gathered, while the crowds are assembled on the stands around the gate which include veterans of the PLA, Young Pioneers, representatives of state and private businesses and distinguished citizens as well as the civil service and the diplomatic corps and foreign press representatives. As the Massed Bands play the Parade March of the PLA, a special parade version of the

Military Anthem of the People's Liberation Army The Military Anthem of the People's Liberation Army of China ( zh, s=中国人民解放军军歌, t=中國人民解放軍軍歌, p=Zhōngguó Rénmín Jiěfàngjūn Jūngē), also known as the March of the Chinese People's Liberation Army of Ch ...

, following the fly past of the national and party flags and the flag of the PLA, alongside, in special years, a helicopter formation honoring the number of years of nationhood, the ground column marches first as the General Secretary and other party, state and military leaders take the salute of each of the contingents marching past the saluting stand. Since 1984 the regular honor guard companies of the

, including the aforementioned female company, are the first to march past the dignitaries, led by the

colour guard In military organizations, a colour guard (or color guard) is a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of regimental colours and the national flag. This duty is highly prestigious, and the military colour is generally carried by a yo ...

carrying the flag of the PLA, which serves as the de facto national colour, alongside the national and party flags that both precede it. Each of the battalions that march past are made up of the following: * Officers of the CMC, MND and the People's Armed Police *

National Defense University National Defence (or Defense) University (or College) may refer to: :''Alphabetical by country'' University * Marshal Fahim National Defense University, Afghanistan * National Defense University (Azerbaijan) * People's Liberation Army National Defe ...

* Military academies and officer cadet schools * PLA Ground Forces *

PLA Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy, also known as the People's Navy, PLA Navy or simply Chinese Navy, is the naval warfare branch of the People's Liberation Army, the national military of the People's Republic of China. It is composed of fiv ...

** PLA Marine Corps *

PLA Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...

** PLA Airborne Corps * PLA Special Operations Forces * PLA Rocket Forces * Joint Logistics Support Force * Women's contingent of PLA personnel *

* PLA Reserve Service Forces * China Militia of the CMC and NDMC * Civilian workers of the CMC, PLA and MND * Battalion of PLA personnel serving in UN peacekeeping operations Until the parade of 1959, the PLA, PAP and militia marched separately during the parade proper (the militia marched as part of the civil column). Each of the battalions consists of 350 soldiers (14 rows of 25 soldiers) and are led by the battalion commander and the battalion political commissar, who march at the lead of their unit. A mobile column then follows which is also formed into battalions, but with the command personnel mounted on their vehicles as they render honors. These are made up of the mostly nationally produced military vehicles and equipment in service and being introduced to serve the needs of the modern PLA. A notable unit to serve in the mobile column is the female contingent from the Bethune Medical College, which was introduced to the parade in 1984. Following this column, the flypast of aircraft from the Ground Forces, Navy and Air Force follows suit.

List of National Day parades

The following parades have been held since 1949:

Cancelled parades

*1969 – Pushed through at last minute, but no mobile column and flypast, only civil-military parade column *1971 – Due to the

Lin Biao Incident The Lin Biao incident ( zh, c=九一三事件, l=September 13 Incident) was an aircraft accident at 3 a.m. on 13 September 1971 involving Lin Biao, the sole Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party. Everyone on board a People's Liberation Ar ...

*1979 – Due to the aftermath of the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

*1989 – Due to the

1989 Tiananmen Square protests The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led Demonstration (people), demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsucces ...

Gallery

File:China 10th Anniversary Parade in Beijing 03.jpg, PLAN soldiers during the parade in 1959. File:Type 98 tanks on parade.jpg, Type 98 tanks on parade. File:HY-6 and two J-10Bs at PRC70 Parade (20191001112908).jpg, PLA aircraft at the 2019 National Day military parade. File:ZBD-05 amphibious IFV in Beijing.jpg, A

ZBD-05 The Type 05 amphibious armored vehicle ( zh, 05式两栖装甲车) is a family of amphibious tracked armored fighting vehicles developed by Norinco for the People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps, consisting of two main combat variants — th ...

in Beijing, practicing for the parade. File:Beijing-parade-rehearsal-tanks-tiananmen-20190923-VOA.webm, The 2019 parade rehearsal video

Notes

References

External links

The National Day Parade Official Website (2009 version)
*Part
123
an
4
of a documentary on the history of the Chinese National Day Parade]
Fifteen military units march in formation for National Day parade

《庆祝中华人民共和国成立70周年大会阅兵式群众游行特别报道》 20191001 , CCTV

720P High Definition Video of the 60th Anniversary Parade
– (YouTube) (

720p 720p (720 lines progressive) is a progressive HD signal format with 720 horizontal lines/1280 columns and an aspect ratio (AR) of 16:9, normally known as widescreen HD (1.78:1). All major HD broadcasting standards (such as SMPTE 292M) includ ...

resolution in HD mode)
Documentary Film: China's 50th National Day Military Parade 1999 PLA August First Film Stu

1984 China Military Parade Full Version , 1984年中国人民解放军大阅兵

1984 北京35週年國慶閱兵、羣衆遊行（粵語旁述完整版

1959 CHINA NATIONAL DAY 《庆祝建国十周年》
{{China topics, state=autocollapse People's Republic of China Annual events in Beijing Military of the People's Republic of China Military parades in China Autumn in China Recurring events established in 1949 1949 establishments in China