The 10th anniversary celebrations of founding of the People's Republic of China were held on 1 October 1959. The main event was held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. A grand banquet with many international dignitaries had been organized on the preceding evening.

The Great Hall of the People is a state building located at the western edge of Tiananmen Square in Xicheng, Beijing. It is used for legislative and ceremonial activities by the government of the People's Republic of China and the ruling Chinese Communist Party. The People's Great Hall functions as the meeting place for the full sessions of the National People's Congress, the Chinese legislature, which occurs every year during March along with the national session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a political advisory body. It is also the meeting place of the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, which, since the 12th conference in 1982, has occurred once every five years and the party's Central Committee which meets approximately once a year.