Just like the 4th of July in the United States, the 1st of October is a very important holiday in China. National Day (国庆节 – guó qìng jié) celebrates the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. To get you in the patriotic spirit for this big day, check out some of our past posts related to the holiday:
Learn about the founding of the PRC as well as a bit of modern history about the holiday and its status as a Golden Week in China. See what a National Day celebration looks like in the place where it all began – Tiananmen Square (天安门广场 – tiān’ān mén guǎng chǎng):
With more and more Chinese people getting passports and traveling abroad to celebrate the holiday, there are sure to be some issues. A few years ago, the government put out a handbook on how to behave when traveling out of the country. Learn about it and some of the backlash from Chinese netizens in this post.
What better way to show your love for China on the country’s birthday than by singing the national anthem? This post gives some background info about the song, as well as the lyrics in Chinese, pinyin, and English for you to practice.
Mao’s portrait on the Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tiananmen).
“The Chinese people have stood up!”
(中国人民站起来了 – zhōng guó rén mín zhàn qǐ lái le)
This is what Mao Zedong proclaimed upon the founding of the PRC. Get the scoop on the early years of the new nation in this post, from his disastrous trip to Moscow to marriage and land reforms.
Sasha is an English teacher, writer, photographer, and videographer from the great state of Michigan. Upon graduating from Michigan State University, he moved to China and spent 5+ years living, working, studying, and traveling there. He also studied Indonesian Language & Culture in Bali for a year. He and his wife run the travel blog Grateful Gypsies, and they're currently trying the digital nomad lifestyle across Latin America.
Comments:
Nicole:
Great post! I really appreciate the resources provided so we can learn more about China and its history.