The Tangshan Earthquake is also known as the Great Tangshan Earthquake, was a natural disaster that occurred on Wednesday, July 28, 1976. It is believed to be the largest earthquake of the 20th century by death toll. The epicenter of the earthquake was near Tangshan in Hebei, People's Republic of China, an industrial city with approximately one million inhabitants. The number of deaths initially reported by the Chinese government was 655,000, but this number has since been stated to be around 240,000 to 255,000. A further 164,000 people were recorded as being severely injured. The earthquake occurred between a series of political events involving the Communist Party of China, ultimately leading to the expulsion of the ruling Gang of Four by Mao's chosen successor Hua Guofeng. In traditional Chinese thought, natural disasters are seen as a precursor of dynastic change.

The earthquake hit in the early morning, at 03:42:53.8 local time (1976 July 27 19:42:53.8 UTC), and lasted 23 seconds. Chinese government official sources state a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter magnitude scale, though some sources listed it as high as 8.2. It was followed by a major 7.1 magnitude aftershock some 16 hours later, increasing the death toll to over 255,000. The cause was when the 25-mile long Tangshan Fault, which runs near the city, ruptured due to tectonic forces caused from the Okhotsk Plate sliding past the Eurasian Plate.

"唐山"redirects here. For an alternative name of China, see Names of China#Tang

Tangshan (Chinese: 唐山; pinyin: Tángshān shì) is a largely industrial prefecture-level city in Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It has become known for the 1976 Tangshan earthquake which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale and killed at least 255,000 residents. The city has since been rebuilt and has become a tourist attraction.

Tangshan's prefecture population was 7,577,284 at the 2010 census, with over 3 million in the 6 core districts.

Tangshan is named after Dacheng Mountain (which is also named Mountain Tang[Tangshan in Chinese]) in the middle of Tangshan city.

In 645 A.D., Li Shimin-emperor of Tang Dynasty and his army stationed at Dacheng Mountain on his way back from Korean Peninsula. Unfortunately, Caofei-his beloved concubine died here. In order to commemorate his Caofei, he named the mountain with the name of the state—Tang. Later, the name of the mountain became the name of the city.

Tangshan is a place with a long history, where there were ancient humans living as early as 4 million years ago. Tangshan was in the territory of Guzhu Kingdom (1600 B.C.) in the time of the Shang Dynasty; and then became a part of Yan Kingdom (one of the seven Warring States, 403 B.C--221 B.C.), and in the Han Dynasty was included to Youzhou . It was under the jurisdiction of Yongping Province and Zunhua State successively in the Qing Dynasty.