Major events in PLA's history 1967-1976

　　1967

　　In May 1967, the Inner Mongolia Military Area Command was downsized to be a provincial-level military command under the organization of the Beijing Military Area Command.

　　On June 17, 1967, China succeeded in detonating its first H-bomb.

　　1968-1970

　　In December 1968, the Tibet Military Area Command was downsized to be a provincial-level military command under the organization of the Chengdu Military  Area Command.

　　On Jan. 30, 1970, China successfully launched a long-range ground-to-ground guided missile which was developed independently by China.

　　On Apr. 24, 1970, the blast-off of China's first artificial earth satellite got a success.

　　1971-1973

　　In December 1971, China's first guided missile destroyer was put into service in the PLA Navy.

　　On Dec. 8, 1973, the Central Military Commission made a decision to re-establish and newly set up a total of 41 military educational institutions of higher learning.

　　1974-1976

　　On Aug. 1, 1974, the first nuclear-powered submarine designed and manufactured by China independently started its service in the PLA Navy.

　　On Jan. 8, 1976, Premier Zhou Enlai, one of the founders of the PLA, passed away in Beijing.

　　On Jul. 28, 1976, a strong earthquake at 7.8 magnitude on the Richter scale jolted Tangshan, a port city in north China's Hebei Province. The PLA troops participated in the quake victims rescue and disaster relief operations as the main force.

　　On Sept. 9, 1976, Mao Zedong, chairman of the Central Committee of the CPC and one of the founders of the PLA, passed away in Beijing at the age of 83.