1997 in China

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.
 * 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
 * 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.
 * 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

 * 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)
 * 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)