October 1, 1949Reputable sourceWell documented
The Founding of the People's Republic
On the timeline · around October 1, 1949 · Modern China
What happened
After decades of warlordism, Japanese invasion, and civil war, the Chinese Communist Party under Mao Zedong defeated the Nationalists, who fled to Taiwan. On 1 October 1949 Mao proclaimed the People's Republic of China from the gate of the Forbidden City in Beijing.
Why it matters
The Communist victory reunified mainland China under a single government for the first time in decades and set the country on a revolutionary path that would reshape the lives of a fifth of humanity.