List of massacres in China

The following is a list of massacres that have occurred in China. The massacres are grouped for different time periods.
This includes British Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, as well as Portuguese Macau and the Macau Special Administrative Region.

Republic of China (since 1912)

1937–1945 (Second Sino-Japanese War)

Name	Date	Location	Victims	Notes
Tongzhou mutiny	29 July 1937	Tongzhou District, Beijing	?	Chinese collaborationist troops of the East Hebei Army turned against the Japanese and massacre Japanese forces in revenge for Japanese planes bombing their barracks when they refused to attack fellow Chinese.
Zhengding Missionary Murder	9 October 1937	Zhengding, Hebei province	9	Kidnapping and Murder of nine Catholic priests by Japanese troops
Datong Mass Grave	1937–1945	Datong, Shanxi	155,000+	Japanese military caused deaths of between 60,000 and over 155,000 laborers working in coal mines around Datong.
Nanjing Massacre	13 December 1937 to 1938	Nanjing, Jiangsu	100,000~300,000	40,000 were massacred within Nanjing City Walls, mostly within the first five days; while the total victims massacred as of the end of March 1938 in both Nanjing and its surrounding six rural counties "far exceed 100,000 but fall short of 200,000".
1938 Changsha fire	13 November 1938	Changsha	30,000	Kuomintang officials ordered the city be set on fire to prevent the Japanese from benefiting from its capture.
Three Alls Policy	1940–1942	North China	2.7 million	Scorched earth policy conducted by Japanese military.
Panjiayu Massacre	1941, 25 January	Panjiayu, Hebei	1298	Scorched earth policy conducted by Japanese military as part of the Three Alls Policy.
St. Stephen's College massacre	1941, 25 December	British Hong Kong	100	100 people killed by Japanese military.
Zhejiang-Jiangxi massacres	1942, 15 May – 4 September	Provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangxi	250,000	Conducted by Japanese military as retaliation for Chinese civilians giving shelter to American pilots after the Doolittle Raid.
Changjiao massacre	1943, 9–12 May	Changjiao, Hunan	30,000	Conducted by the Japanese military.
Nanshitou Massacre	1942–1945	Nanshitou Refugee Camp, Guangzhou	100,000	At least 100,000 deaths caused by Japanese military. Biological weapons and human experimentation involved.
Yan'an Rectification Movement	1942–1945	Yan'an, Shaanxi		A mass movement launched by Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party that led to numerous executions. Regarded by many as the origin of Mao Zedong's cult of personality.
Gegenmiao massacre	14 August 1945	Gegenmiao, Horqin Right Front Banner of the Hinggan League of Inner Mongolia.	1,800	During its invasion of Manchuria, the Soviet Red Army massacred fleeing Japanese refugees at the town of Gegenmiao.

1945–1949 (Civil War)

Name	Location	Date	Victims	Notes
February 28 incident	Taiwan Province	1947, 28 February – 16 May	Roughly 8,000	The Kuomintang responded to a revolt by native Taiwanese by beginning a campaign of repression.
Siege of Changchun	Jilin Province	1948, 23 May – 19 October 1948	120,000 to 330,000 civilian deaths due to starvation	The civilian population of Changchun was caught between the besieging People's Liberation Army and the occupying Republic of China Armed Forces. The PLA cut off food from entering the city by land, and while the ROCAF could be supplied by air, the civilian population could not. Neither side accepted responsibility for feeding the civilians and they died from starvation and exposure in the no-man's-land between the two armies.

People's Republic of China (since 1949)

1949–1966

Name	Date	Location	Victims	Notes
Ili Han Massacre	1949	Gulja, Xinjiang	Over 7,000 Han Chinese civilians	Mass killing of Han Chinese civilians by Second East Turkestan Republic forces.
Chinese land reform	1949–1953	Nationwide	1 million – 4.7 million	Launched by Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party. Liquidation of the landlord class in struggle sessions.
Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries	1950–1953	Nationwide	712,000 – 2 million	Launched by Mao Zedong and CCP.
Three-anti and Five-anti campaigns	1951–1952	Nationwide	100,000+	Exact death toll is unknown. In Shanghai alone, from 25 January to 1 April 1952, at least 876 people committed suicide. Launched by Mao Zedong and CCP.
1954 Cathay Pacific Douglas DC-4 shootdown	1954, 23 July	South China Sea, off the coast of Hainan Island	10	Airliner shootdown By People's Liberation Army Air Force, 10 of the 19 on board died
Sufan movement	1955–1957	Nationwide	53,000	Launched by Mao Zedong and CCP
Anti-Rightist Campaign	1957–1959	Nationwide	550,000 – 2 million	Exact death toll is unknown. Official statistics shows that at least 550,000 people were purged and many died. Launched by Mao Zedong and CCP.
Xunhua Incident	1958	Qinghai	435	The massacre was conducted by People's Liberation Army towards local civilians.
1959 Tibetan uprising	1959	Tibet	87,000	The exact number of deaths has been disputed.
Violence in the Great Chinese Famine	1959–1961	Nationwide	2.5 million	Killings occurred during the Great Chinese Famine. According to Frank Dikötter, at least 2.5 million people were beaten or tortured to death, which accounted for 6–8% of the total deaths in the famine.
Socialist Education Movement	1963–1965	Nationwide	77,560	Launched by Mao Zedong.

1966–1976 (Cultural Revolution)

Cultural Revolution was launched by Mao Zedong in May 1966, with the help of the Cultural Revolution Group. Estimates of total deaths during the Cultural Revolution generally range from 500,000 to 2,000,000.
Some Chinese researchers have estimated that at least 300,000 people were killed in massacres during the Cultural Revolution. Massacres in Guangxi Province and Guangdong Province were among the most serious: in Guangxi, the official annals of at least 43 counties report massacres with 15 of them recording a death toll of over 1,000, while in Guangdong at least 28 counties report massacres with 6 of them seeing over 1,000 deaths. The following table only includes major massacres which have been well documented in literature.

Name	Date	Location	Victims	Notes
Red August	August – September 1966	Beijing	1,772	Origin of the Red Terror in Chinese Cultural Revolution, triggering Daxing Massacre which killed 325 people in a few days. Statistics from 1985 showed a death toll of over 10,000 due to the Red August.
Guangxi Massacre	1966–1976	Guangxi	100,000 – 150,000	Massive cannibalism occurred.
Inner Mongolia incident	1967–1969	Inner Mongolia	16,632 – 100,000	Mostly Mongols.
Qinghai 223 Incident	February 1967	Qinghai	173	Conducted by People's Liberation Army.
Guangzhou Laogai Fan Incident	August 1967	Guangzhou, Guangdong	187–197	Part of the Guangdong Massacre. Caused by the rumor that Laogaifan were released. Local citizens began massive killings as self-defense.
Anti-Peng Pai Incident	August 1967	Shanwei, Guangdong	>160	Targeted the relatives of Peng Pai.
Qingtongxia Incident	August 1967	Qingtongxia, Ningxia	101	Conducted by People's Liberation Army.
Yangjiang Massacre	1967–1969	Yangjiang, Guangdong	3,573	Part of the Guangdong Massacre. Mainly in Yangjiang and Yangchun.
Daoxian massacre	August – October 1967	Daoxian, Hunan	9,093	Took place in more than 10 counties, mainly in Dao County.
Shaoyang County Massacre	July – September 1968	Shaoyang, Hunan	991	Influenced by Daoxian Massacre.
Dan County Massacre	August 1968	Danzhou, Hainan	>700	Part of the Guangdong Massacre. Over 50,000 people were jailed and thousands were permanently disabled. Conducted by People's Liberation Army and local militias.
Ruijin Massacre	September –October 1968	Ruijin, Jiangxi	>1000	Took place in Ruijin County, Xingguo County, and Yudu County.
Zhao Jianmin Spy Case	1968–1969	Yunnan	17,000	Over 1.3 million people persecuted. Part of the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
Shadian incident	July – August 1975	Yunnan	1,600	Uprising of Hui people. Conducted by People's Liberation Army.