China

China: timeline and key events

20 events 🌍 Country page : China
  1. Politics

    Qin Shi Huang, first emperor of unified China

    King Ying Zheng of Qin conquers the six rival kingdoms and proclaims himself Qin Shi Huang, first Son of Heaven of a unified China, establishing a centralised bureaucracy and the first standardised writing system.

  2. Politics

    Beginning of the Han Dynasty

    After the fall of Qin, Liu Bang founds the Han Dynasty which reigns for four centuries, developing the Silk Road, consolidating Confucianism as a state philosophy and inaugurating a golden age of Chinese civilisation.

  3. Economy

    Opening of the Silk Road

    Emperor Han Wudi sends Zhang Qian on a diplomatic mission to Central Asia, opening the trade routes that will become the Silk Road connecting China to the Mediterranean over 7,000 km.

  4. Science

    Invention of paper by Cai Lun

    Court eunuch Cai Lun perfects the making of paper from tree bark, fishnets and rags, revolutionising written communication worldwide centuries later.

  5. Culture

    Beginning of the Tang Dynasty

    Li Yuan founds the Tang Dynasty, considered the pinnacle of Chinese civilisation: poetry, painting, ceramics and trade reach new heights, and Chang'an becomes the world's largest city with a million inhabitants.

  6. Politics

    Foundation of the Yuan Empire by Kublai Khan

    Genghis Khan's grandson Kublai Khan proclaims the Yuan Dynasty in China, unifying the country under Mongol rule and welcoming Marco Polo to his court, fostering exchanges between East and West.

  7. Politics

    Foundation of the Ming Dynasty and construction of the Forbidden City

    Zhu Yuanzhang drives out the Mongols and founds the Ming Dynasty, which undertakes the construction of the Great Wall in its present form and the Forbidden City in Beijing, enduring symbols of imperial China.

  8. Politics

    Transfer of the capital to Beijing

    Emperor Yongle transfers the capital from Nanjing to Beijing and officially inaugurates the Forbidden City, making Beijing the political, cultural and symbolic centre of China for the next six centuries.

  9. Politics

    Fall of the Ming, beginning of the Qing Dynasty

    The Manchus breach the Great Wall and found the Qing Dynasty, the last Chinese imperial dynasty, which expands the Empire to its maximum extent and will reign until 1912.

  10. War

    First Opium War

    China confiscates British opium, triggering the First Opium War; defeated, it signs the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842, ceding Hong Kong to Britain and opening five ports to foreign trade, beginning the "century of humiliation".

  11. Politics

    Fall of the Qing Dynasty, proclamation of the Republic

    The last emperor Puyi abdicates, ending 2,000 years of imperial rule in China; Sun Yat-sen proclaims the Republic of China, opening a period of fragmentation and civil wars.

  12. Politics

    Foundation of the Chinese Communist Party

    Mao Zedong and twelve delegates found the Chinese Communist Party in Shanghai, initiating a revolutionary process that will lead to the seizure of power in 1949 and the profound transformation of China.

  13. War

    Japanese invasion and Nanjing Massacre

    Japan invades China on a large scale; the fall of Nanjing in December is accompanied by a mass massacre claiming between 100,000 and 300,000 civilian victims, a foundational trauma in Chinese national memory.

  14. Politics

    Proclamation of the People's Republic of China

    Mao Zedong proclaims the People's Republic of China from Tiananmen Square on 1 October, after the communist victory over the nationalists, marking the beginning of a new era for the world's most populous country.

  15. Politics

    Cultural Revolution

    Mao Zedong launches the Cultural Revolution, plunging China into ten years of chaos: intellectual elites persecuted, cultural heritage destroyed, the economy devastated and millions of victims.

  16. Economy

    Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms

    Deng Xiaoping commits China to the policy of opening and reform (Gaige Kaifang), introducing a market economy while maintaining the one-party system, triggering the most spectacular economic growth in history.

  17. Politics

    Tiananmen Square crackdown

    The government sends troops and tanks to disperse pro-democracy protesters gathered at Tiananmen Square for weeks, killing hundreds to thousands and shocking the international community.

  18. Economy

    China's entry into the WTO

    China joins the World Trade Organisation, fully integrating into the global economy and accelerating its growth to become the world's second-largest economy in less than twenty years.

  19. Sport

    Beijing Olympic Games

    China hosts the Summer Olympics in Beijing, finishing first in the gold medal table with 51 titles, and presenting its rise to power to the world with a spectacular opening ceremony.

  20. Economy

    Launch of the Belt and Road Initiative

    President Xi Jinping announces the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a colossal infrastructure project aimed at connecting China to Eurasia and Africa through roads, ports and railways, for an investment of several trillion dollars.