August 1 Medal

For the earlier Chinese order, see August 1 Medal (1955).

The August 1 Medal is the highest honorary medal bestowed on military personnel by the People's Republic of China.^[1] The bestowal is decided by the Central Military Commission and presented by the Chairman of the Central Military Commission.^[2] According to law, this medal is awarded to "military personnel who have made great contributions and established outstanding meritorious service in safeguarding national Sovereignty, security, and development interests, and promoting the modernization of national defense and the military, and have had a profound impact on the country and the entire military." It is awarded every five years.^[3]

August 1 Medal 八一勋章
August 1 Medal
Type	Military awards and decorations
Awarded for	"Military personnel who have meritorious service in upholding sovereignty, security and development interests of the state, and promoting the modernization of national defense and the armed forces"
Country	People's Republic of China
Eligibility	Military personnel of China
Status	Active
Established	12 June 2017
First award	28 July 2017
Final award	27 July 2022
Total recipients	13
Ribbon of the Medal
Precedence
Next (higher)	Medal of the Republic
Equivalent	July 1 Medal
Next (lower)	Order of Heroic Exemplar

August 1 Medal
Traditional Chinese	八一勳章
Simplified Chinese	八一勋章
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Bāyī Xūnzhāng

History

The August 1 Medal was originally established in 1955 as the highest military award for members of the PLA who served during the Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War. On 12 June 2017, with the approval of Xi Jinping, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, the Order of August the First was re-established.^[1]

Recipients

2017

On 28 July 2017, Xi Jinping awarded the decoration to ten recipients:^[4]

• Mai Xiande (麦贤得)
• Ma Weiming (马伟明), led the development of China's electromagnetic catapult system for launching aircraft from carriers
• Li Zhonghua (李中华)
• Wang Zhongxin (王忠心)
• Jing Haipeng (景海鹏), first Chinese astronaut to fly in space more than once
• Cheng Kaijia (程开甲), nuclear engineer and key figure in Chinese nuclear weapon development
• Wei Changjin (韦昌进)
• Wang Gang (王刚)
• Leng Pengfei (冷鹏飞)
• Yin Chunrong (印春荣)

2022

On 27 July 2022, Xi Jinping signs order to confer Medal on three military individuals:^[5]

• Du Fuguo (杜富国), sergeant in the PLA Southern Theater Command
• Qian Qihu (钱七虎), retired researcher at the former PLA University of Science and Technology
• Nie Haisheng (聂海胜), renowned astronaut from the PLA Astronaut Division