National Day (国庆节 | Nation Celebration Festival) takes place on the 1st of October. It celebrates the founding of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国) by Mao Zedong in 1949. The actual day is on the 1st but the week of was made into a public holiday full of festivals, parades, events, fireworks, food, and breaks during the weekend days. It is called Golden Week (黄金周).

There are military parades and floats that go through places like Tiananmen (天安门) Square in Beijing (北京), which gets decorated for the occasion. Throughout the week, there are ceremonies for fallen soldiers, like the wreath-laying ceremony, and for current servicemen in the PLA. There is also a flag-raising ceremony on years that do not have parades planned during the 1st.