This Day, That Year

Editor's note: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China.

Coca-Cola was the first US company to operate on the Chinese mainland after the nation began its opening-up policies in 1979, the same year that Sino-US diplomatic relations were established at an ambassadorial level.

In January 1979, the first 3,000 cases of Coke were shipped from Hong Kong to Beijing and Guangzhou, Guangdong province, by train. Buyers were limited to foreigners that came to China for business or tourism, Chinese citizens who returned from overseas, and Hong Kong and Macao compatriots.