Mao Zedong appeared on the balcony of the Gate of Heavenly Peace and announced the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC). His announcement followed years of intense civil war between various warlords vying to take control following the fall of the Qing dynasty and people hoped he would unify the country and bring peace.

In 1956, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) reformed the ancient Chinese written script. The CCP hoped to increase literacy levels and take China into the modern era. Some linguists feel that much of the pictographic meaning embedded within the script was lost in the process. Literacy has been rising, from just over 60% of the population in 1982 to over 96% in 2018, according to a UNESCO report.

In 1959, an anti-Chinese and anti-Communist popular revolt erupted in Lhasa, capital of Tibet. One week later, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tibet's political and spiritual leader, escaped to India to avoid the ensuing crackdown. Tibet remains under control of Beijing and expressing signs of loyalty to the Dalai Lama can be met with arrests, prison sentences, torture and "re-education" programs.

In 1966, Mao Zedong began the chaotic ten-year cultural revolution period, meant to revitalize the Communist project. It was carried out by students and the "Red Guard" gangs attacked people thought to have opposite values to those of the Communist Party. Many famous writers, intellectuals and academics committed suicide after facing public humiliation.

Mao Zedong is celebrated as a hero in modern-day China and his embalmed body remains a tourist destination for many Chinese. In China, he is viewed as the person who restored respect and pride to his country on the world stage. In the West, he is largely seen as causing many deaths through his failed collectivization projects during the 1960s.

Mao Zedong may have created the PRC, but Deng Xiaoping created modern-day China. He pioneered special economic zones such as Shenzhen, where companies were able to export to the outside. By doing so in a controlled manner, Deng successfully managed a transition from Communist to a controlled market economy. This paved the way for the economic success that China sees today.

Falun Gong is a set of meditation exercises founded in 1992 by Li Hongzhi. By the late 1990s millions of Chinese had taken up Falun Gong but its growing popularity scared the CCP. The party banned the practice in 1999 arresting thousands of its practitioners. In 2019 the UK-based China Tribunal said there was clear evidence that Falun Gong members had their organs harvested by the Chinese state.

Beijing underwent a huge development boom in the build-up to hosting the 2008 Olympic Games. Its national stadium, known as the Bird's nest, and the National Swimming Centre, known as the "Water Cube" were symbols of a new Beijing. During the event US swimmer Michael Phelps claimed eight gold medals, beating Mark Spritz’s seven at the 1972 Munich Games.

The Belt and Road initiative is a vast transcontinental infrastructure project throughout Asia, Europe, and Africa begun by Xi Jinping in 2013. According to the Brookings Institute, the initiative is popular with governments in the developing world, filling infrastructure gaps and boosting growth. Others worry that the loans provided by Beijing will leave developing countries indebted to China.

In January 2019 Chinese State Television (CCTV) reported that China's Chang'e-4 probe had touched down on the far side of the moon. It landed in the lunar South Pole's Aitken Basin. The achievement marked an important step in China’s ambitions to challenge US and Russian space dominance. China hopes to become a major space power by 2030.