The Gang of Four is arrested, ending the Cultural Revolution’s leadership faction

The Dongfanghong-1 satellite entered orbit, demonstrating advances in rocketry, electronics and research under a state-directed system. It served national prestige and security while building...

The UN General Assembly recognized the PRC as the representative of China, expanding the government’s access to international institutions. Diplomatic recognition supported later trade and...

US President Richard Nixon began a visit that helped normalize relations and reduce China’s diplomatic isolation. The opening created conditions for later trade, technology exchange and investment,...

At the Fourth National People’s Congress, Zhou called for modernization in agriculture, industry, national defense, and science and technology by the end of the century. The agenda anticipated the...

Mao’s death ended the leadership era that had shaped the planned economy, mass campaigns and revolutionary mobilization. Economic policy remained contested: leaders disagreed over whether to...

The Party formally restored Deng after his second purge. He advocated rebuilding schools, scientific institutions and economic administration, helping shift debate toward practical expertise. His...

The State Council approved the return of a unified entrance examination after a decade in which university admissions had relied heavily on political and workplace recommendations. Millions of...

A Guangming Daily editorial argued that policy should be judged by practical results, helping reopen debate about Mao-era decisions and the role of expertise. The intervention was part of a wider...

Eighteen households in Xiaogang, Anhui, signed a secret agreement to divide collective land use among families and link each household’s rewards to output after meeting state obligations. This local...

In a speech preparing the Third Plenum, Deng urged leaders to emancipate thought, seek truth from facts and use economic methods in managing the economy. He argued for changing relations of production...