See the famous moment that Beijing was liberated in 1949 from the Kuomintang in this iconic painting.

The piece was painted in the 1950s by Chinese Artist Ye Qianyu.

Beiping, now known as the capital city Beijing, was one of many parts of China that saw the difficult fight to bring the Civil War in China to an end.

In Beiping, the Communist Party of China sought a peaceful transition of power to preserve its thousand-year-old buildings, and protect its two million citizens.

Just before liberation, Nationalist forces known as the Kuomintang, or KMT, controlled Beiping. 

Undercover CPC members discovered KMT plans to withdraw from the city.

The Red Army surrounded the capital and Kuomintang Commander Fu Zuoyi had no option but to surrender.

On January 21, 1949, representatives from both CPC and KMT signed their names on the Peace Agreement of Beiping.

The PLA marked the handover with a grand parade on February 3, 1949, which Ye documented in the painting.

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