CivAtlasHistory reader

July 1921 CE / East Asia

The Communist Party of China Is Founded

The First National Congress of the Communist Party of China opened in Shanghai and later moved to Jiaxing, bringing early communist organizations together into a unified political party.

Read on the map and timeline
Era
Modern World
Region
East Asia
Theme
Politics
An imagined early twenty-first-century city: a tram passes a plaza where people walk, cycle and gather by trees and streetside shops.
An AI-generated imagined historical panorama suggests everyday life. It is not evidence for reconstructing a specific event or archaeological site.

The story

On July 23, 1921, the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China opened in Shanghai; its final meeting moved to South Lake in Jiaxing, Zhejiang. The congress adopted a program and resolutions and elected a central leadership body, marking the party's founding. Its early activities intertwined with the New Culture Movement, labor organizations, the spread of Marxism, and connections with the Communist International. At the time it was still a small party, and it later experienced cooperation and conflict with the Kuomintang and war. The party's founding in 1921 cannot be equated with the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The map marks the site of the first congress in Shanghai.

Elsewhere in the world

After the Russian Revolution, socialist and communist organizations developed in many places, and the circulation of political ideas in China was also part of this international network.

Dates and precision

July 1921 CE Documented date

Positioned by the documented year, month or day; missing months and days are not inferred.

Representative map location

Shanghai · First Congress site

The point represents the area around the First Congress site in Shanghai. The final meeting moved to South Lake in Jiaxing; the marker does not locate an exact building.

Representative coordinates · 31.22°, 121.475°

Coordinates locate a representative point for the story. They do not mean the event happened only here and do not represent historical borders.

Bibliography

  • Memorial of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China | Museum Overview and First Congress Site
  • Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee | The First CPC National Congress Site in Shanghai

Sources are listed as bibliography titles, without external links. A reference does not mean every sentence or interpretation has been independently verified.

Continue reading

  1. 1912 CE · East Asia

    The Republic of China Is Founded and Imperial Rule Ends

    Sun Yat-sen took office as provisional president in Nanjing, and the Qing emperor subsequently abdicated; the establishment of a republic began a new phase of state-building while leaving problems of divided power and war.

  2. 1914–1918 CE · Europe

    Global Mobilization in the First World War

    A European crisis escalated into a world war, drawing in colonial soldiers, laborers, and resources, and reshaping empires and everyday life.

  3. 1917–1922 CE (from revolution to the formation of the Soviet Union) · Europe

    The Russian Revolution and the Formation of the Soviet Union

    Two revolutions ended tsarist rule and brought the Bolsheviks to power, followed by civil war and state reorganization leading to the formation of the Soviet Union in 1922.

  4. May 4, 1919 CE and afterward · East Asia

    The May Fourth Movement and New Culture Debates

    The Paris Peace Conference's handling of rights in Shandong sparked student protests in Beijing that grew into a broader social movement, intertwining with New Culture, nationalism, and new political ideas.

Read this era · Modern WorldRead this region · East Asia

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