The list of nuclear weapons tests is a listing of nuclear tests conducted by the People's Republic of China from 1964 through 1996. Most listings show 45 tests in the series with 45 devices, with 23 tests being atmospheric. All tests were conducted in the remote location of Lop Nur, Xinjiang.[1]
This pure-fission U-235 implosion fission device named "596" was China's first nuclear test. The device weighed 1,550 kg (3,420 lb). No plutonium was available at that time.
First use of lithium-6 in a Soviet sloika design (other source says it was boosted fission); probably test of a thermonuclear primary. Said to have dropped on a 640 ft (200 m) white circle.
Fizzled thermonuke. Exact time of 07:30:22.1 verified by USAF AFTAC duty operator William Scott. Recorded air burst signal scaled by Scott the next day at Turkmen Deh, Iran. Erroneous reports exist that show a time of 04:00:00.
Test of insensitive high explosives in primary, DF-31 warhead.
^The US, France and Great Britain have code-named their test events, while the USSR and China did not, and therefore have only test numbers (with some exceptions – Soviet peaceful explosions were named). Word translations into English in parentheses unless the name is a proper noun. A dash followed by a number indicates a member of a salvo event. The US also sometimes named the individual explosions in such a salvo test, which results in "name1 – 1(with name2)". If test is canceled or aborted, then the row data like date and location discloses the intended plans, where known.
^Rough place name and a latitude/longitude reference; for rocket-carried tests, the launch location is specified before the detonation location, if known. Some locations are extremely accurate; others (like airdrops and space blasts) may be quite inaccurate. "~" indicates a likely pro-forma rough location, shared with other tests in that same area.
^Elevation is the ground level at the point directly below the explosion relative to sea level; height is the additional distance added or subtracted by tower, balloon, shaft, tunnel, air drop or other contrivance. For rocket bursts the ground level is "N/A". In some cases it is not clear if the height is absolute or relative to ground, for example, Plumbbob/John. No number or units indicates the value is unknown, while "0" means zero. Sorting on this column is by elevation and height added together.
^Atmospheric, airdrop, balloon, gun, cruise missile, rocket, surface, tower, and barge are all disallowed by the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Sealed shaft and tunnel are underground, and remained useful under the PTBT. Intentional cratering tests are borderline; they occurred under the treaty, were sometimes protested, and generally overlooked if the test was declared to be a peaceful use.
^Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.
^Designations for test items where known, "?" indicates some uncertainty about the preceding value, nicknames for particular devices in quotes. This category of information is often not officially disclosed.
^Estimated energy yield in tons, kilotons, and megatons. A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie).
^Radioactive emission to the atmosphere aside from prompt neutrons, where known. The measured species is only iodine-131 if mentioned, otherwise it is all species. No entry means unknown, probably none if underground and "all" if not; otherwise notation for whether measured on the site only or off the site, where known, and the measured amount of radioactivity released.
Total country yield is 4.5% of all nuclear testing.
^Includes all tests with potential for nuclear fission or fusion explosion, including combat use, singleton tests, salvo tests, zero yield fails, safety experiments, and bombs incapacitated by accidents but still intended to be fired. It does not include hydronuclear and subcritical tests, and misfires of a device which was subsequently fired successfully.
^Number of tests which would have been in violation of the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963, such as atmospheric, space or underwater tests. Some "peaceful use" cratering tests which should have been violations were protested, and later quietly dropped.
^"Small" refers to a value greater than zero but less than 0.5 kt.
^Some yields are described like "< 20 kt"; such are scored at one half of the numeric amount, i.e., yield of 10k in this example. "Unknown yield" adds nothing to the total.
^"China's nuclear tests". Monterey Institute of International Studies. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2014. Discrepancies between this list and the list below include two unnumbered failed tests and a test that later was disclosed to be a salvo test of two devices.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafagahaiajakalamNorris, Robert S.; Burrows, Andrew S.; Fieldhouse, Richard W. (1994). Nuclear Weapons Databook, Vol. 5: British, French, and Chinese Nuclear Weapons. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
^In 1969 the date was identified as 13 May 1965 by
an Australian journalist who described the first seven of China's nuclear tests. See: Francis James (9 August 1969). "The first Western look at the secret H-bomb centre in China". The Toronto Star. p. 10.. Or see the related article in The Sunday Times of June 15, 1969.
^ abcAndryushin, L. A.; Voloshin, N. P.; Ilkaev, R. I.; Matushchenko, A. M.; Ryabev, L. D.; Strukov, V. G.; Chernyshev, A. K.; Yudin, Yu. A. (1999). Catalog of Worldwide Nuclear Testing (Technical report). Sarov, Russia: RFNC-VNIIEF. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
