China Becomes Nuclear Power

Date: October 16, 1964 • Location: Beijing, China

With the success of Project 596, China became the world's fifth nuclear power.

Project 596 was the first nuclear test of the nuclear weapons program of China, detonated on 16 October 1964, at the Lop Nur test site in Xinjiang. It was an implosion fission device containing about 15 kg weapons-grade uranium (U-235), produced at the Lanzhou enrichment plant.