Story perspectives

China’s Mao Anniversary Draws Unofficial Rallies Amid Party Ban

9/10/2026

Summary

Mao Remembrance

Chinese citizens gather at Mao Zedong’s mausoleum in Beijing on the 50th anniversary of his death.
Thousands travel to Mao’s birthplace Shaoshan to lay wreaths at the square named after him.
Chinese authorities have not announced official ceremonies because CPC rules forbid state events for former leaders.
Online influencers portray Mao as a life coach, producing book clubs and AI-narrated videos, and they call him “jiaoyuan.”

Summary

Xi Mirrors Mao

The CPC’s third historical resolution framed Mao as a stepping stone toward Deng’s reforms and Xi’s era.
Party scholars say Mao’s authoritarian legacy underpins today’s centralized governance and the party-lead-everything principle.
Xi Jinping attached his name to the state ideology, mirroring Mao’s cult of personality and consolidating power.
The party narrative downplays Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution deaths, emphasizing achievements to sustain popular legitimacy.

History

Historical Context

At the December 1978 Third Plenum, the Chinese Communist Party empowered Deng Xiaoping to launch market-oriented reforms that lifted about 800 million people out of poverty and drove average annual GDP growth of 9.5% through the 1980s. Today, Xi Jinping’s administration revives those reform narratives, using the party’s historic legacy to justify tighter centralized control.

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Mao Remembrance

Chinese citizens gather at Mao Zedong’s mausoleum in Beijing on the 50th anniversary of his death.
Thousands travel to Mao’s birthplace Shaoshan to lay wreaths at the square named after him.
Chinese authorities have not announced official ceremonies because CPC rules forbid state events for former leaders.
Online influencers portray Mao as a life coach, producing book clubs and AI-narrated videos, and they call him “jiaoyuan.”

1 / 3