China Turns 60

Thursday, October 1, 2009, marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. While the country gears up to celebrate, FP looks back on six decades in the world's oldest continuously red state.

SEPTEMBER 28, 2009

China Photos/Getty Images

The world's factory: Following political upheaval in the wake of Mao's death in September 1976, Deng Xiaoping, a leader in China's reformist faction, rose to power. Deng and the reformers aimed to reinvent the Chinese economy, instituting market-based prices and certain elements of capitalism, while inviting greater foreign investment. From the late 1970s through the 1990s, China witnessed unprecedented economic growth under Deng's tutelage. Modern China has embraced international trade, becoming "the world's factory," as illustrated above with extensive shipping containers waiting to be shipped from Guangdong province in 2006.

China Photos/Getty Images

 SUBJECTS: CHINA, EAST ASIA
 

Lauren Seyfried is a researcher at Foreign Policy.

ZACHARY.LICHAA

9:42 AM ET

October 1, 2009

Spectacular

Most of FP's photo essays are well done and informative. This piece stands out from the rest, as the pertinent events in China's 60 year red history are covered from beginning to end. Kudos to Lauren.