In 1949, Mao Zedong declared the People's Republic of China (PRC) from Tiananmen, following a near complete victory by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/Chinese-Civil-War" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chinese Civil War</a>. Since then, the PRC has been the most recent political entity to govern mainland China, taking the place of the Republic of China (ROC) which held power from 1912-1949, and the thousands of years of monarchical dynasties that came before it. The paramount leaders of the PRC have been Mao Zedong (1949-1976); Hua Guofeng (1976-1978); Deng Xiaoping (1978-1989); Jiang Zemin (1989-2002); Hu Jintao (2002-2012); and Xi Jinping (2012 to present). The origins of the PRC can be traced back to 1931 when the Chinese Soviet Republic was proclaimed in Ruijin, Jiangxi, with the support of the All-Union Communist Party in the Soviet Union. This short-lived republic dissolved in 1937. Under Mao's rule, China underwent a socialist transition from a traditional peasant society, turning towards a planned economy with heavy industries. This change was accompanied by campaigns such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution which had a devastating effect on the entire country. From 1978 onwards, Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms made China the world's second-largest economy and one of the fastest growing, investing in high productivity factories and leading in certain areas of high technology. After receiving support from the <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-the-Soviet-Union" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">USSR</a> in the 1950s, China became a bitter enemy of the USSR until Mikhail Gorbachev's visit to China in 1989. In the 21st century, China's newfound wealth and technology has led to a competition for primacy in Asian affairs with <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-India" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">India</a>, <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Japan" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Japan</a>, and the <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-the-United-States" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">United States</a>, and since 2017 a trade war with the United States.

Visual Timelines

History of the People's Republic of China Timeline

History of the People's Republic of China Timeline

Mao Era

The People's Republic of China

Campaign to Suppress

China and the Korean War

Hundred Flowers Campaign

Anti-Rightist Campaign

Four Pests campaign

Great Leap Forward

Great Chinese Famine

Sino-Soviet Split

Sino-Indian War

Cultural Revolution

Guangxi Massacre

Lin Biao Incident

Nixon Visits China

Death of Mao Zedong

Deng Era

Comeback of Deng Xiaoping

1978 Constitution of the People's Republic of China

Boluan Fanzheng

Chinese Economic Reform

Special Economic Zones

Sino-Vietnamese War

Gang of Four

Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign

Jiang Zemin and the Third Generation

Jiang Zemin

Tiananmen Square Protests

Normalized China and Russia Relationship

Deng Xiaoping's Southern Tour

Three Gorges Dam

Third Taiwan Strait Crisis

Handover of Hong Kong

China joins the World Trade Organization

Hu Jintao and the Fourth Generation

Hu–Wen Administration

Shenzhou 5

2008 Summer Olympics

Tibetan Unrest

Xi Jinping and the Fifth Generation

Xi Jinping

China–United States Trade War

Hong Kong protests

Tiangong Space Station

Epilogue

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History of Ireland

Migration of Early Modern Humans

Geopolitical Theories

Life in a Medieval Village

Logistics during the American Civil War

Art of War of the Byzantine Empire

Naval Warfare during the American Revolution

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