Double Tenth Day
Next: October 10, 2027
Fireworks for the tenth of the tenth.
The story
Where it comes from
Double Tenth Day (雙十節) takes its name from its date, the tenth day of the tenth month. The Story marks the anniversary of the Wuchang Uprising, which broke out in Wuchang, now part of Wuhan, on 10 October 1911. On 9 October a bomb went off by accident in a revolutionaries' workshop in Hankou, exposing the plan, so the troops rose early. It began the revolution that ended the Qing dynasty. In Taiwan the day is National Day and a public holiday; on the mainland it is marked as the anniversary of the 1911 Revolution, without a day off.
How it's celebrated
The main celebration is held in the plaza in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei. The flag is raised and the anthem sung, then come drum troupes, lion dances, Indigenous performances, honour guards and an air force flypast, followed by the President's address. The national fireworks display travels around Taiwan, with a different city or county hosting it each year.
Did you know
- Taiwan counts its official years from 1912, the first year of the Republic, so the official year number is the Western year minus 1911.
- The uprising was first planned for the Mid-Autumn Festival, 6 October 1911, and was put back because preparations were not ready.
- Sun Yat-sen planned revolts against the Qing from Wan Qing Yuan in Singapore and from a house on Armenian Street in Penang, and both buildings are now museums.
The greeting
國慶快樂 · Guóqìng kuàilè
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