Mao 's last public appearance -- and the last known photograph of him alive -- was on May 27 , 1976 , when he met the visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto during the latter 's one-day visit to Beijing .
Mao 's last public appearance was on 27 May 1976 , where he met the visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto during the latter 's one-day visit to Beijing .