October 1st is the Chinese National Day (one of the seven legal holidays in China), the memorial day for the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

The word National Day has ancient origins: during the Western Jin Dynasty (265 – 316 AD) they used to celebrate in this day the emperor ascended the throne or his birthday.
Nowadays, on this day, a variety of grand ceremonies and activities are held throughout the country.
National Day holiday, is also called “Golden Week” for the seven-day holiday (from October 1st to 7th) and is one of the only two long holidays in China (the other is Spring Festival holiday) during which Chinese people go traveling around the country.
National Day is celebrated throughout mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

Origin of the date
After the five year civil war, in 1949 the Chinese communist party finally won and on October 1st, Chairman Mao Zedong declared the creation of New China from Tiananmen Square in Beijing (the PRC was founded on September 21st, 1949). Later on October 2nd, 1949, the new government declared October 1st to be the National Day. Ever since, every October 1st has been magnificently celebrated by Chinese people.

Customs
Traditionally, the celebration of the holiday begins with the ceremonial raising of the Chinese national flag in Tiananmen Square. The flag ceremony is followed first by a large parade exhibiting the country’s military forces and then by state dinners and, finally, fireworks displays, which conclude the evening celebrations.
The National Day’s parade consists of a military review and march-past which last about 66 minutes. It starts at 10:00 am on October 1st on Tian’anmen. The Leader of China takes a parade car to come into the people’s view. The joint headquarters for the military parade will then make a statement.
Those impressive military reviews have attracted people around the world.

Other Celebration Activities
A special tradition of the Chinese folk during the National Day is hanging red Chinese lanterns which symbolize happiness and fortune.
During the time of the celebrations most of supermarkets, department stores and malls in China offer big discounts.