1997 in China

← 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1997 in China → 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
Decades:	1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s
See also:	Other events of 1997 History of China  • Timeline  • Years

The following lists events in the year 1997 in China .

Incumbents

• General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party: Jiang Zemin
• President: Jiang Zemin
• Premier: Li Peng
• Vice President: Rong Yiren
• Vice Premier: Zhu Rongji

Governors

• Governor of Anhui Province – Hui Liangyu
• Governor of Fujian Province – He Guoqiang
• Governor of Gansu Province – Sun Ying then Song Zhaosu
• Governor of Guangdong Province – Lu Ruihua
• Governor of Guizhou Province – Wu Yixia
• Governor of Hainan Province – Ruan Chongwu then Wang Xiaofeng
• Governor of Hebei Province – Ye Liansong then Yue Qifeng
• Governor of Heilongjiang Province – Tian Fengshan
• Governor of Henan Province – Ma Zhongchen then Li Keqiang
• Governor of Hubei Province – Jiang Zhuping
• Governor of Hunan Province – Yang Zhengwu then Chu Bo
• Governor of Jiangsu Province – Zheng Silin then Ji Yunshi
• Governor of Jiangxi Province – Shu Shengyou
• Governor of Jilin Province – Wang Yunkun then Hong Hu
• Governor of Liaoning Province – Wen Shizhen
• Governor of Qinghai Province – Tian Chengping then Bai Enpei
• Governor of Shaanxi Province – Cheng Andong
• Governor of Shandong Province – Li Chunting
• Governor of Shanxi Province – Sun Wensheng
• Governor of Sichuan Province – Song Baorui
• Governor of Yunnan Province – Li Jiating
• Governor of Zhejiang Province – Wan Xueyuan (until April), Chai Songyue (starting April)

Events

• January 21 – 1997 Jiashi earthquakes
• February 3 to 5 – Ghulja Incident
• February 25 – 1997 Ürümqi bus bombings
• April 29 – According to Chinese government official confirmed report, two passenger train collision on Rongjiawan Station, Hunan Province, 120 persons were fatalities with 230 persons were hurt.^{[ citation needed ]}
• May 8 – China Southern Airlines Flight 3456
• July 1 – Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong
• August – Typhoon Winnie (1997)
• September 19 – Election of the 15th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party
• November 8 – 1997 Manyi earthquake

Culture

• 1997 Shanghai International Film Festival: The Woodlanders won the award for Best Feature Film ^[1]
• List of Chinese films of 1997

Sport

• December 5–14 – 1997 AFC Women's Championship, in Guangdong
• Chinese Jia-A League 1997
• China at the 1997 East Asian Games

Births

• January - Fan Zhendong, Chinese professional table tennis player. ^[2]
• April 3 - Zhao Xintong, Chinese professional snooker player.
• July 7 - Liu Yan (golfer) ^[3]
• November - Xu Minghao, singer, member of Seventeen.

Deaths

• January 14 — King Hu, film director based in Hong Kong and Taiwan (b. 1932)
• January 28 — Wong Shun-leung, Hong Kong martial artist (b. 1935)
• February 2 — Qin Jiwei, general (b. 1914)
• February 17 — Leonard Ho, Hong Kong film producer (b. 1925)
• February 19 — Deng Xiaoping, 3rd Paramount Leader of China (b. 1904) ^[4]
• March 31 — Dorothy Liu, Hong Kong pro-Beijing politician (b. 1934)
• April 9 — Wu Zuoren, painter (b. 1908)
• April 11 — Wang Xiaobo, novelist and essayist (b. 1952)
• April 26 — Peng Zhen, 4th Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (b. 1902)
• May 6 — Wang You, biochemist (b. 1910)
• May 7 — Yip Hon, gambling tycoon (b. 1904)
• May 16 — Wang Zengqi, writer (b. 1920)
• May 25 — Luo Ergang, historian (b. 1901)
• June 6 — Liao Shantao, mathematician (b. 1920)
• June 10 — Zhou Lin, politician (b. 1912)
• June 27 — Joseph Zong Huaide, Roman Catholic Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Shandong (b. 1917)
• June 28 — Yang Yichen, politician (b. 1914)
• June 30 — Su Bingqi, archaeologist and co-founder of Peking University's archaeology program (b. 1909)
• September 8 — Yu Jim-yuen, martial artist, actor, teacher and the master of China Drama Academy (b. 1905)
• September 22 — Chiang Wei-kuo, Nationalist general and adopted son of Chiang Kai-shek (b. 1916)
• September 23 — Lu Sheng, lieutenant general (b. 1911)
• October 7 — Wan Laiming, animator (b. 1900)
• October 17 – Fang Yi, former Vice Premier of China (b. 1916)
• October 20 — Li Ruishan, politician (b. 1920)
• October 26 — Teng Haiqing, military officer and politician (b. 1909)
• November 8 — Lam Ching-ying, Hong Kong stuntman, actor, martial artist and action director (b. 1952)
• November 9 — Wu Xiuquan, military officer and diplomat (b. 1908)
• December 4 — Ho Sin Hang, Hong Kong entrepreneur, philanthropist and financier (b. 1900)
• December 16 — Hu Ning, physicist and writer (b. 1916)

References

1. "Golden Goblet Award 1997". siff.com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
2. "Table Tennis: FAN Zhendong". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on July 30, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
3. Hall, Mike (2025-04-27). "Yan Liu Facts: 10 Things To Know About The LPGA Tour Pro". Golf Monthly. Retrieved 2025-06-15.
4. "Deng Xiaoping | Biography & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved July 4, 2019.