7.1 Party Day | Celebrate the 103rd anniversary of the founding of the Party!

From July 23 to early August 1921, the first national congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was held in Shanghai (later moved to the South Lake in Jiaxing). The 13 delegates attending the congress adopted the party's program, decided to call the party “the Communist Party of China”, and formally announced the birth of the CPC. From then on, there emerged in China a completely new type of united proletarian political party with Marxism-Leninism as its guide and the realization of socialism and communism as its goal. Comrade Mao Zedong said, “China has produced the Communist Party, which is a great event that opens up the world.”

How was July 1 later established as the anniversary of the Party's birth?

For the first time on July 1 to carry out party education activities according to the Zhou Enlai Chronicle, July 1, 1937, the CPC Central Committee held a party activist conference in Yan'an, Zhou Enlai made a report titled “Sixteenth Anniversary of the Communist Party of China”. This is the first time in the history of our party to carry out educational activities for party members on July 1st.

For the first time, the anniversary of the founding of the Party was made clear. From May 26 to June 3, 1938, Mao Zedong gave a lecture on “On the Long War” at the Yan'an Anti-Japanese War Research Society. In his lecture, he said, “July 1 this year is the 17th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. In order to enable every Communist Party member to do his or her best and greater efforts in the war of resistance against Japan, it is also necessary to focus on the study of protracted war.” This was the first time that our party leaders proposed July 1 as the anniversary of the birth of the CPC.

The first central document to specify the anniversary of the founding of the Party, July 1, as the anniversary of the birth of the Party, first appeared in June 1941 in the Central Committee documents. At that time, the Central Committee of the CPC issued the “Instruction on the Twentieth Anniversary of the Birth of the CPC and the Fourth Anniversary of the War of Resistance”, which explicitly stated that: “July 1 this year is the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the CPC, and July 7 is the fourth anniversary of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. This year's July 1 is the twentieth anniversary of the creation of the CPC, and July 7 is the fourth anniversary of the Chinese War of Resistance against Japan. All anti-Japanese bases should convene separate meetings, adopt various methods to hold commemorations, and issue special issues or special series in various publications.” This was a clear stipulation of July 1 as the day to celebrate the founding of the Party in the form of a directive from the CPC Central Committee.