The Xinjiang 61st Regiment Farm fire started during Chinese New Year when a firecracker ignited the wreaths of late Mao Zedong, killing 694 personnel.

The Xinjiang 61st Regiment Farm fire broke out at Chinese New Year on February 18, 1977. When the farm hall was showing a North Korean war movie at new year, a 12-year-old audience member set off a ground spinning firecracker and ignited the mourning wreaths for Mao Zedong displaying in the hall. Although the wreaths should have been incinerated months before, the regiment felt pressure to keep them. There was a crowd crush at the only exit.

Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture, and has been added to the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2024. Marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring, this festival takes place from Chinese New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival, held on the 15th day of the year. The first day of the Chinese New Year falls on the new moon that appears between 21 January and 20 February.

Mao Zedong, the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, died on 9 September 1976 at the age of 82, following a period of ill health. The government ordered a week of national mourning following his death.