This year marks the 75thanniversary of the foundingof the People’s Republic ofChina （PRC）.

Over the past 75 years，the Chinese nation hasachieved a tremendoustransformation—it has stoodup， grown rich， and becomestrong. China’s economicaggregate has reached 126trillion yuan （about US$17.74trillion） as it has remainedthe second-largest economyin the world for severalyears. Its grain productionhas achieved solid harvestsfor 20 consecutive years.Moreover， China hascreated one new recordafter another in lunarexplorations， and its spacestation is fully operational.

Over the past 75 years， theChinese people’s aspirationsfor better lives have

gradually become reality.The people of China， onceleading a life of privation，have embraced moderateprosperity in all respects，with per capita disposableincome growing by 75.8times. China has lifted

hundreds of million peopleout of poverty， accountingfor 70 percent of the globaltotal in poverty reduction.At the same time， the

country has established theworld’s largest educationsystem， social securitysystem， and healthcaresystem. The averagelife expectancy in Chinahas reached 78.6 years，residents’ income is growingsteadily， and constructionof government-subsidizedhousing for low-incomefamilies is advancing solidly.

Over the past 75 years，China has moved closerto the center of the worldstage. From the FivePrinciples of PeacefulCoexistence to thevision of building a globalcommunity of sharedfuture， from the GlobalDevelopment Initiative，the Global SecurityInitiative， and the GlobalCivilization Initiative to theBelt and Road Initiative，China has always beencommitted to buildingglobal peace， contributingto global development anddefending internationalorder.

In this issue， ChinaPictorial presents a seriesof photos shining lighton China’s developmentover the past 75 yearssince the founding of thePRC in 1949. Not only dothese images documentthe past achievementsof the Chinese nation，but they also foreshadowits expectations for thefuture.