← 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]
• May - Jacqueline Wang, great-grandchild of Wang Guangqi, great-grandniece of Wang Guangmei, attended Groton School and Columbia University in the City of New York.
• November - Xu Minghao, singer, member of Seventeen.

Deaths

• February 2 – Qin Jiwei, general (born 1914)
• February 19 – Deng Xiaoping, Paramount Leader of China (born 1904)^[3]
• April 26 – Peng Zhen, Former Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China (born 1902)
• May 25 – Luo Ergang, historian (born 1901)
• October 17 – Fang Yi, former Vice Premier (born 1916)
• November 9 – Wu Xiuquan, military officer and diplomat (born 1908)