On September 9, 1976, Mao Zedong, Chairman of the CPC Central Committee, Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission and Honorary Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, died of illness in Beijing at the age of 83.

The same day, the CPC Central Committee and the Chinese central government announced his death. The whole country was in mourning for 10 days. On September 18, a million people attended a memorial meeting on the Tiananmen Square. On October 8, the CPC Central Committee and the Chinese government decided to build the Memorial Hall of Mao Zedong.

(Courtesy of the Foreign Languages Press)