1979 in China

Events in the year 1979 in the People's Republic of China.

Incumbents

Governors

Governor of Anhui Province - Wan Li then Zhang Jingfu
Governor of Fujian Province - Liao Zhigao then Ma Xingyuan
Governor of Gansu Province - Song Ping then Li Dengying
Governor of Guangdong Province - Wei Guoqing then Xi Zhongxun
Governor of Guizhou Province - Ma Li
Governor of Hebei Province - Liu Zihou
Governor of Heilongjiang Province - Yang Yichen then Chen Lei
Governor of Henan Province - Duan Junyi then Liu Jie
Governor of Hubei Province - Chen Pixian then Han Ningfu
Governor of Hunan Province - Mao Zhiyong then Sun Guozhi
Governor of Jiangsu Province - Xu Jiatun then Hui Yuyu
Governor of Jiangxi Province - Jiang Weiqing then Bai Dongcai
Governor of Jilin Province - Wang Enmao
Governor of Liaoning Province - vacant
Governor of Qinghai Province - Tan Qilong then Zhang Guosheng
Governor of Shaanxi Province - Wang Renzhong then Yu Mingtao
Governor of Shandong Province - Bai Rubing then Su Yiran
Governor of Shanxi Province - Wang Qian then Luo Guibo
Governor of Sichuan Province - Zhao Ziyang then Lu Dadong
Governor of Yunnan Province - An Pingsheng then Liu Minghui
Governor of Zhejiang Province - Tie Ying then Li Fengping

Events

January

January 1 — The United States broke diplomatic relations with Republic of China, and established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.
January - The One Child Policy is announced and implemented

February

February 17 – The People's Republic of China invades northern Vietnam, launching the Sino-Vietnamese War.

March

March 5 – Zhuhai County was upgraded to Zhuhai City.
March 14 – In China, a Hawker Siddeley Trident crashes into a factory near Beijing, killing at least 260.

September

September 27 – Stars Art Exhibition, the first independent art exhibition, takes place in Beihai Park, Beijing

Births

January 13 – Yang Wei, Badminton player
February 9 – Zhang Ziyi, film actress
February 17 – Xu Yunlong, footballer
March 5 – Tang Gonghong, Chinese weightlifter
March 12 – Liu Xuan, Gymnast
March 14 – Gao Ling, badminton player
May 15 – Li Yanfeng, discus thrower
April 19 – Zhao Junzhe, footballer
June 14 – Ma Ning, association football referee
June 20 – Li Yi, footballer
July 19 – Mo Huilan, gymnast
August 15 – Tong Jian, pair skater
August 27 – Tian Liang, diver
September 18 – Bobo Chan, Musical artist
October 5 – Gao Yuanyuan, actress and model
October 7 – Tang Wei, actress
December 10 – Yang Jianping, archer
December 24 – Pang Qing, figure skater
December 27 – Sa Dingding, folk singer and songwriter

Deaths

January 15 — Yang Zhongjian, vertebrate paleontologist
February 7
*Su Zhenhua, general and politician
*Cui Wei, film director and actor
March 7 — Lei Chen, Taiwanese politician and dissident
March 12 — Zheng Xiaocang, writer, translator, and educator
March 30 — Tong Dizhou, embryologist
May 27 — Yao Zhe, lieutenant general of the People's Liberation Army
June 30 — Zhou Shidi, general of the People's Liberation Army
July 1 — Huang Minlon, organic chemist and pharmaceutical scientist
July 4 — Lee Wai Tong, Hong Kong and Chinese international association football player, head coach and former Vice President of FIFA
August 1 — Li Ji, influential archaeologist
August 14 — Wang Yun-wu, scholar of history and political science
August 27 — Shi Jianqiao, assassin of the Warlord Sun Chuanfang
September 25 — Zhou Libo, novelist and translator
October 13 — Chang Kia-ngau, banker, politician and scholar
December 3 — Zhang Guotao, revolutionary, founding member of the Chinese Communist Party and a rival to Mao Zedong