[3] Premier Li Keqiang was the master of ceremonies and General Yi Xiaoguang was the chief commander of the parade.

[7] The capital was covered with red flags, adorning apartment compounds and neighbourhoods; banners reading "Today's China is the result of the work of Chinese people" were draped across overpasses, and topiaries were installed around the roads in Beijing.

During rehearsals for a military parade to mark the day, residents close to Tiananmen Square received instructions to stay away from windows and to keep their curtains drawn.

[12] In defiance of a police ban on the annual march that the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) applied for, four veteran democrats led a rally from Causeway Bay to Central, mourning the victims of CCP rule and calling for the end of one-party rule in mainland China.

[12] Simultaneously, protesters held rallies in Wong Tai Sin, Tuen Mun, Tsuen Wan, Sha Tin and Sham Shui Po,[12] which drew tens of thousands of participants.

[17] China Media Group (CMG), the state-owned holding firm of the China Central Television (CCTV) network and the China Global Television Network (CGTN) international channels, was expected to mainly broadcast synchronously for domestic and foreign TV channels with CCTV-1 as the producing channel for the celebrations, while national, provincial and city broadcasters and TV stations, domestic internet video, portals, and live webcast sites also broadcast the event simultaneously via the CCTV-1 feed.

The "press centre for the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China" was based in Beijing's Media Center and was officially launched on 23 September.

[19] A "special clean-up operation" was initiated targeting "harmful political information" and any Sina Weibo accounts or posts that "distort the history of the party and the country".

[citation needed] To mark the special anniversary of national foundation, on Sunday, 29 September, the celebrations began with the CCTV-produced musical concert gala The Nation Moves Onward aired nationwide on CCTV-1 live from the Great Auditorium of the Beijing Great Hall of the People, in which Central Military Commission (CMC) chairman and general secretary of the CCP Xi Jinping attended as guest of honour together with other party and national leaders, veterans of the PLA and other invited guests.

The 15th annual wreath laying ceremony in honour of the heroes and martyrs of the Chinese nation and people was held in earnest on 30 September, National Memorial Day, on the grounds of Tiananmen Square which CMC Chairman and General Secretary of the CCP Xi Jinping attended as guest of honour, together with other party and national leaders, veterans of the PLA, distinguished citizens, the Young Pioneers and representatives of the civil service and the private sector, in which flowers and wreaths were laid in the Monument to the People's Heroes.

In an earlier ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, 42 individuals, including several foreigners, were awarded by paramount leader Xi as part of the National Day honours list (several of the awards were posthumous) with national orders and decorations for merit and service to the republic and people as well as to contributing to enhanced ties with foreign countries.

CMC Chairman and General Secretary Xi Jinping was the guest of honour of the gala night, together with other party and national leaders present.

Some members of the pro-unification opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) called on the DPP to accept the 1992 Consensus while rejecting the Taiwan independence movement.