bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

Chris Taylor

October 1, 1949
Mao Zedong proclaims the founding of the People's Republic of China in Beijing after 22 years of civil war. The defeated government of the Republic of China - the Kuomintang (KMT) led by Chiang Kai-shek - retreats from Nanking (now known as Nanjing or 'southern capital'; Beijing means 'northern capital') to Taipei.  
1950 
The People's Liberation Army  begins operations to secure Tibet as part of the republic with the Battle of Chamdo. 
1951  
In May, the 14th Dalai Lama signs the 17 Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet.  
1951-52 
Mao launches campaigns aimed at  cleansing corruption and enemies of the state. The campaigns root out wealthy capitalists and elements still loyal to the former KMT government.
1955
The Second East Turkestan Republic - a vast, culturally and linguistically Turkic region that played a trade role with the West - officially becomes the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.  
1956-7
Mao  launches the 100 Flowers Movement. It allegedly aims  to allow the people to express their views. The result is a  flood of criticism. Probably more than half a million people are imprisoned, demoted, sent to reform camps, or killed, in the Anti-Rightist Campaign that follows.
1958-61
The government launches the Great Leap Forward, an ambitious plan to jump-start  the agricultural and industrial sectors. Vast people's communes formed; people make steel in backyard furnaces; farming is neglected. By the early 1960s, a famine is claiming millions of lives. The death toll is unknown, but some sources claim as many as 30 million died.   
1959
Tibetans rise up against Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rule; the Dalai Lama flees to India.
1961
Beijing and the Soviet Union split, due to differences over ideology and national interests.
1964 
The government  formalises the system of simplified characters that is in place today.  The first nuclear bomb is tested in October. 
1966 
Mao  launches the Cultural Revolution, along with an attack on the Four Olds - Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Ideas. Young people form groups of Red Guards. They roam the country destroying  traditional culture and persecuting people from the 'wrong' backgrounds.  Much of  the mainland's historical legacy is destroyed.
1968
Mao launches a Down to the Countryside movement. Many students are forced to leave their schools and universities and relocate to remote villages to learn from the masses. They are known  as the Lost Generation.
1971
Beijing replaces Taipei as the representative of China in the United Nations.  
1975
The government launches the Four Modernisations - Agriculture, Industry, Technology and Defence - in an attempt to get the country back on track to becoming a modern, developed nation. 
1976
In early April, thousands mourning the death of respected  premier Zhou Enlai   take part in protests and a violent crackdown follows. In  July, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake strikes the northern city of Tangshan. The official death toll is more than 252,000, but some reports suggest  it could be more than 600,000.  Less than two months later, Mao dies. His death leads to the fall of the so-called Gang of Four who  are held responsible for the Cultural Revolution.  Pragmatist senior CCP official Deng Xiaoping re-emerges from house arrest.  
1977-78
During a brief period of liberalisation known as the Beijing Spring, worker Wei Jingsheng argues China needs a fifth modernisation - democracy. He is imprisoned. In 1978, Deng begins to push for economic reforms.
1979
China and the US normalise diplomatic relations.  The one-child policy is introduced.
1980
Special Economic Zones  are established in Shenzhen, Xiamen, Shantou, Zhuhai, and Hainan. Deng launches a programme of gaige kaifang (reforms and opening).  
1984
British prime minister Margaret Thatcher signs the Sino-British Joint Declaration, agreeing to hand over Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories on July 1, 1997.  
1989
University students  in Beijing begin to put up posters mourning the death of party reformer Hu Yaobang and criticising the government. By April 21, the eve of Hu's funeral, 100,000 students have gathered in Tiananmen Square. They call for an end to official corruption, a greater opening up of the economy and for more public involvement in politics. Students and workers are forcefully dispersed by army units on June 4. Estimates as to how many Beijing citizens die in the crackdown vary enormously  - perhaps several hundred, perhaps more than 2,000. Student leaders are imprisoned or go into exile. In December, China's first stock markets open in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
1991
The first branch of McDonald's opens in Beijing.
1992-3
As Jiang Zemin consolidates power, Deng embarks on his Southern Tour. He visits the cities of Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Guangzhou  and praises their economic progress. He initiates a wave of entrepreneurship.  
1994
The Three Gorges Dam project, involving the relocation of 1.3 million people, is launched.
1997
In February,  Deng dies aged 92. He is lauded as the man who led China  into the modern world. Hong Kong's handover takes place on July 1.  
2001
China is awarded the 2008 Olympic Games and joins the World Trade Organisation.
2002
Sars breaks out in Guangdong and Beijing is accused of not being  transparent.  
2003
China puts a manned spaceship into orbit. Yang Liwei becomes the first space traveller from the mainland. 
2006
Statistics show China is producing more fossil fuel emissions than the United States.
2007
A new property rights law provides greater rights of ownership.
2008
The Beijing Summer Olympics are preceded by violent protests in Lhasa and a massive 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Sichuan with a death toll close to 100,000. Astronauts walk in space.  Tainted milk powder scandal affects thousands of mainland babies. 
2009
Ethnic tensions in Urumqi, Xinjiang, lead to mass protests and at least 196 deaths. The 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China takes place tomorrow.



Reaching the summit