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1949
Mao Zedong gathers a large crowd in Tianenman Square, Beijing, and proclaims the formation of the People’s Republic of China. -
1950
Marriage Law passed, outlawing polygamy, arranged and child marriages, making it easier for divorces. -
1951
CHina started controlling Tibet's government province. -
1952
The Five Antis campaign begins. -
1953
Armistice signed to help start the end of the fighting in the Korean War. -
1954
Several Western nations form the South East Asia Treaty Organisation to help “contain communism”. -
1956
A year of widespread famine whipes across China. -
1957
Mao orders a halt to the Hundred Flowers campaign. -
1958
Mao unwraps a plan to produce steel. -
1958
The Great Leap Forward was Mao’s attempt to modernise China’s economy so that by 1988, China would have an economy that it would be better than America's. -
1959
Mao visits a steel factory in Manchuria and learns that his plans can not possibly work. -
1966
More than a thousand people in Shanghai are murdered by the Red Guards or chose to commit suicide. -
1966
In 1966, China’s Communist leader Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution in order to reassert his authority over the Chinese government. -
1968
Mao idevelopes a ‘Down to the Countryside’ movement, migrating students into rural areas. -
1972
US president Richard Nixon travels to China and meets Mao, Zhou Enlai and other leaders. -
1976
The death of Mao Zedong from motor neurone disease.