Events - Browse By Place - China

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Zhou house moves from Xi'an in Wei valley eastward to Luoyang
-771
Government, China
Confucius leaves Lu to spread his message of virtue-based government
-497
Religion, China
Chinese develop stirrup in about 300 BC
-300
Invention, China
Battle of Gaoping: Qin army defeats Zhao, burying 400,000 men alive
-260
War, China
China unites under Zheng, king of Qin, who becomes Shi Huangdi, First Emperor
-221
War, China
Winning the Battle of Kai-hsia, Kao-ti becomes first emperor of the Han dynasty
-203
War, China
Lui Bang, a former peasant, establishes the Han dynasty
-202
War, China
Zhang Quian begins his journeys west to make alliance with Yuezhi
-138
Geography, China
Buddhism first spreads from Central Asia into China
50
Religion, China
The Han Dynasty ends on the Yangtze River after the Battle of Red Cliffs
208
War, China
Battle of the Fei River: Fu Jian fails to reunify China
383
War, China
Rise of the Bei Wei
386
Government, China
Chinese monk Xuanzang begins travels to India to gather Buddhist texts
629
Religion, China
Islam first arrives in China
650
Religion, China
Formula for gunpowder (saltpeter, sulphur, and charcoal) discovered in China
800
War, China
Banknotes invented by Chinese in Tang Dynasty
806
Invention, China
Chinese in Tang Dynasty invent woodblock printing
868
Invention, China
Chinese invent canal lock during construction of Grand Canal
984
Invention, China
Song emperor agrees to humiliating peace terms--Treaty of Chanyuan
1005
Peace, China
Chinese first use compass for navigation in the Song Dynasty
1050
Invention, China
Gaozong establishes the Southern Song dynasty in Lin'an (present-day Hangzhou)
1127
War, China
Chinese first use cannon during the Song Dynasty
1128
Invention, China
Song sign Shaoxing Treaty to end war with Jurchen invaders to the north
1141
Peace, China
Mongols use captured fleets of Song Dynasty to send expeditions overseas
1174
Trade, China
Kublai Khan defeats Southern Song dynasty at the Battle of Xiangyang
1273
War, China
Peasant Zhu Yuanzhang unites China and founds Ming dynasty
1368
Government, China
Admiral Zheng He displays Chinese sea power with fleet of 62 ships
1405
Trade, China
First Portuguese contact with Macau
1516
Trade, China
Jesuits begin missionary work in China
1582
Religion, China
Ming Dynasty falls as rebels break through Great Wall and capture Beijing
1644
War, China
Emperor Kangxi bans teaching of Christianity
1721
Religion, China
Lord Macartney's trade mission from Great Britain arrives in China
1793
Trade, China
Beginning of White Lotus Rebellion in Central China (1796-1799)
1796
War, China
The Opium War begins after China's expulsion of the British
1839
War, China
British force weak Qing Empire to sign Treaty of Nanking
1842
War, China
Taiping Rebellion begins in 1851
1851
War, China
French and British armies sack the Summer Palace in Beijing
1860
War, China
Beginning of "Self-Strengthening" movement in China (1862-1875)
1862
Government, China
Gordon helps Chinese Qing dynasty defeat the Taiping rebellion
1864
War, China
Dowager Empress Cixi blocks reforms over the next 10 years
1875
Government, China
Sun Yat-sen forms Revive China Society
1894
Government, China
Guangxu launches Hundred Days of Reform
1898
Government, China
Boxer's Rebellion in China is xenophobic and anti-modern
1900
War, China
Japanese defeat Russians at Battle of Mukden and occupy all of southern Manchuria
1905
War, China
Sun Yat-sen leads uprisings against Manchus
1906
War, China
Sun Yat-sen inaugurated president of Provisional Republic of China
1912
Government, China
Sun Yat-sen forced into exile & succeeded by Yuan Shikai
1912
Government, China
Pu Yi is the last emperor of the Qing dynasty
1912
Government, China
China enters warlord era (1916-1926)
1916
War, China
Founding of Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
1921
Government, China
Sun Yat-sen dies and Chiang K'ai-shek rises to power
1925
Government, China
Chiang K'ai-shek begins Northern Expedition (1926-1927)
1926
War, China
Chiang K'ai-shek attacks CCP--surviving Communists flee & establish Red Army
1927
War, China
Chiang K'ai-shek establishes Nationalist government in Nanjing
1927
Government, China
Chiang K'ai-shek attacks CCP base area & Mao Zedong starts "people's war"
1928
War, China
The Manchurian Incident--Japanese soldiers invade and occupy Manchuria
1931
War, China
Chiang K'ai-shek forces Red Army out of South China
1934
War, China
Red Army under Mao Zedong finishes one-year Long March to Yenan
1935
War, China
Chiang K'ai-shek forms second united front with CCP
1937
War, China
Guomindang government retreats to Chongquing--supplied through Burma Road
1938
War, China
Flying Tigers supply Chiang's army by air (1941-1942)
1941
War, China
Mao Zedong & Chiang K'ai-shek talk peace, but prepare for war
1946
War, China
After years of civil war, Communists seize power after Huaihai Campaign
1948
War, China
Maoist revolution creates People's Republic of China, second communist state
1949
Government, China
People's Republic of China claims sovereignty over Tibet
1950
War, China
Mao Zedong signs treaty of friendship with Joseph Stalin
1950
Peace, China
Land reform extends nationwide in rural China
1950
Government, China
People's Republic of China starts 5-year economic plan with Soviet advice & money
1953
Government, China
China completes economic transition to socialism
1956
Government, China
Mao Zedong introduces Hundred Flowers campaign
1956
Government, China
Mao Zedong announces "Great Leap Forward" to industrialize China
1958
Government, China
Dalai Lama flees Tibet and is forced into exile in India
1959
War, China
Mao launches Cultural Revolution pitting the zealous youth against bourgeois ideas
1966
Government, China
In March 1969, fighting occurs on Sino-Soviet border
1969
War, China
Mao Zedong dies after naming Hua Guofeng his successor
1976
Government, China
Cultural Revolution ends with arrest of 4 Mao supporters (Gang of 4)
1976
Government, China
Deng Xiaoping has political comeback & supports free speech at Democracy Wall
1978
Government, China
Chinese government authorizes decollectivization of agriculture
1980
Government, China
China creates Four Special Economic Zones along southeast coast
1980
Trade, China
In December, 1986, student demonstrations support democracy
1986
Government, China
Tiananmen Square massacre dims hope of demonstrators for democracy in China
1989
Government, China
First McDonald's restaurant opens in Beijing
1991
Culture, China
Deng Xiaoping travels on Southern Tour to get support for reforms
1992
Government, China
Zhu Rongji becomes economic czar & applies breaks to overheated economy
1993
Government, China
British return Hong Kong to China
1997
Geography, China
China implements first Internet restrictions
2000
Telecom, China
China joins World Trade Organization
2001
Trade, China
Beginning of SARS epidemic in China
2003
Health, China
China has more CO2 emissions than U.S. as private autos exceed 30 million
2006
Earth, China
China becomes world's third-largest economy, ahead of Japan
2007
Trade, China
200 million Internet users in China
2007
Telecom, China
Beijing hosts Summer Olympics
2008
Peace, China
First direct flights between Taiwan and mainland China
2008
Transportation, China
Zhang Yimou directs opening & closing ceremonies of the Beijing Summer Olympics
2008
Arts, China
Ethnic violence in China: 187 killed & 2,000 arrested in Xinjiang
2009
Human Rights, China
Xi Jinping announces the Belt and Road Initiative
2013
Trade, China
Chinese and Taiwanese presidents formally meet for first time
2015
Peace, China