Bold and Unrestrained: China in 1956

Looking at the full chronology, 1950 was undoubtedly the first year of New China. Song Qingling, the greatest woman of twentieth-century China, known as a “national treasure,” was then Vice Chairman of the Central People’s Government. She called 1950 “the first year of New China.” That year, a thriving new spirit filled our republic. A new society, a new government, a new life, a new world… From national relations to the daily routines of ordinary people, everyone could truly feel the stark difference between the old and new societies and the historic transformation of China. Of course, this was only the beginning. Even more sweeping changes lay ahead. The year 1950 holds milestone significance in the history of the republic because it marked “a new beginning, with everything renewed.”