Wan Li (Traditional Chinese: 萬里; Simplified Chinese: 万里) (born 1916, died 1996) was the Chairman of the National People's Congress before his retirement in 1993, and was generally considered to be a moderate. He was born in Dongping, Shandong province of China. Traditional Chinese characters are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Simplified Chinese characters (Simplified Chinese: 简体字; Traditional Chinese: 簡體字; pinyin: jiǎntǐzì; also called 简化字/簡化字, jiǎnhuàzì) are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 - The Royal Army Medical Corps first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The Great Hall of the People, where the NPC convenes The National Peoples Congress (全国人民代表大会 in Pinyin: Quánguó Rénmín Dàibiǎo Dàhuì, literally Pan-Nation Congress of the Peoples Representatives), abbreviated PNCOTPR, is the highest legislative body in the Peoples Republic of China. ... Shandong (Simplified Chinese: 山东; Traditional Chinese: 山東; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Shan-tung) is a coastal province of eastern Peoples Republic of China. ...

Wan Li joined the Communist Party of China in 1935. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, he had taken many high rank positions. In 1979, Wan Li became governor of Anhui (the official title is First Secretary of the Anhui Provincial Party Committee). He was responsible for the institution of contract responsibility system in agriculture - one of the earliest initiatives of economic reform under Deng Xiaoping. The system began with the conspiracy of farmers in Anhui to divide communal lands and assign them to individual farmers. After their initiative was supported by Wan Li, and later in Sichuan province by Zhao Ziyang, it became national policy. The Anhui agricultural reforms were heralded as brilliant innovations by the central government. Wan Li was immortalised in the folk saying "If you want to eat rice, look for Wan Li." (要吃米, 找万里) The Communist Party of China (CPC) (official name) or Chinese Communist Party (CCP) (Simplified Chinese: 中国共产党; Traditional Chinese: 中國共産黨; Pinyin: Zhōngguó GòngchÇŽndÇŽng) is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Anhui (Chinese: 安徽; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: An-hui; Postal System Pinyin: Ngan-hui, Anhwei or An-hwei) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (help· info) (Simplified Chinese: 邓小平; Traditional Chinese: 鄧小平; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Teng Hsiao-ping; August 22, 1904–February 19, 1997) was a leader in the Communist Party of China (CPC). ... Sichuan (Chinese: 四川; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ssu-ch`uan; Postal Pinyin: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ... Zhao Ziyang (Simplified: 赵紫阳; Traditional: 趙紫陽; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chao Tzu-yang) (October 17, 1919–January 17, 2005) was a politician in the Peoples Republic of China. ...

Wan Li became the Vice Premier in 1984 and the Chairman of the National People's Congress in 1988. Because Wan Li was sympatheic to the student movement the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, he was temporarily put under house arrest but was soon able to retain his job. Another supporter of the student movement, General Party Secretary Zhao Ziyang, has been under house arrest until his death on January 17, 2005. The Great Hall of the People, where the NPC convenes The National Peoples Congress (全国人民代表大会 in Pinyin: Quánguó Rénmín Dàibiǎo Dàhuì, literally Pan-Nation Congress of the Peoples Representatives), abbreviated PNCOTPR, is the highest legislative body in the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Unknown Rebel - This famous photo, taken by Associated Press photographer Jeff Widener, depicts a lone protester, believed to be a Beijing citizen Wang Wei-Lin, whose actions halted the progress of a column of advancing tanks for over half an hour. ... Zhao Ziyang (Simplified: 赵紫阳; Traditional: 趙紫陽; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chao Tzu-yang) (October 17, 1919–January 17, 2005) was a politician in the Peoples Republic of China. ...

Wan Li retired in 1993. In 2004, he called for more democratic decision-making procedures in China to improve the country's "imperfect" Socialist system and boost economic development.

Along with 20 other retired Politburo members, they openly asked the Central Government to rehabilitate Zhao’s name and hold memorial services for him for his many important contributions to China.