Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1916
Yuan Shikai dies less than a year after attempting to establish himself emperor. Yuan's monarch-
ical claims prompted widespread resistance from Republicans.
1919
Students demonstrate in Běijīng against foreign occupation of territories in China and the terms
that conclude WWI. The date of the protests leads to the name of the movement.
1927
The first shots of the Chinese Civil War are fired between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the com-
munists. The war continues on and off until 1949.
1928
The nationalists move the capital to Nánjīng, and Běijīng is again renamed Běipíng. This is the
first time the capital of the entire nation has been in Nánjīng for almost 500 years.
1937
The Marco Polo Bridge Incident signals the beginning of the Japanese occupation of Běijīng and
the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War, which lasts until September 1945.
1946
Communists and the Kuomintang fail to form a coalition government, plunging China back into
civil war. Communist organisation, morale and ideology all prove key to the communist victory.
1949
With the communist victory over the KMT, Mao Zedong announces the founding of the People's
Republic of China from the Gate of Heavenly Peace.
1950s & 1960s
Most of Běijīng's city walls, gates and decorative arches are levelled to make way for roads. Work
commences on Běijīng's labyrinthine network of underground tunnels.
1956-57
The Hundred Flowers Movement promises an era of intellectual freedom, but instead leads to a
purge of intellectuals, artists and thinkers who are labelled rightists and persecuted.
