In today’s article I cover the first floor of the second hall (what I will call Part 3) at the Weifang Generations Classic Car Museum. This hall consists of all sorts of trucks, SUV’s, guns and a rather special bus. We start with a tractor, a lovely old lady and the 1RMB note.
Xinjiang Hongshiyue (Red October) Tractor and Jin Maofang
The first vehicle you see upon walking into this section of the museum is a pretty red tractor manufactured by “Xinjiang Shiyue Tractor Works” (Xinjiang October Tractor Works). Prior to this it was known as the “Xinjiang Shiyue Automobile Repair and Assembly Works” and produced Jiefang trucks, Dongfanghong 54 tractors and Hezuo 25 tractors. Shiyue had the capacity to produce 2500 of each each year. The factory was renamed in 1958 to “Xinjiang Shiyue Tractor Works”
A similar model of tractor appeared on the third 1RMB note issued from 1962 to 2000. Depicted on it is a young woman driving a tractor. The woman driving the tractor was not made up, she is a real person and the museum has a lovely poster dedicated to her.
The woman depicted in the photo is Jin Maofang, born in Shandong in 1931. In 1952 she enrolled in the Xinjiang Corps of the CCP. She is famous for being one of the first of the “New Generation” of female tractor drivers.
FAW Jiefang (Liberation) CA10 Firetruck
GAZ-51
The GAZ-51 was produced until 1975 in Russia (further production took place in Poland, North Korea and of course, China). The Sino-Soviet relationship deteriorated in the 1960’s so it is possible that this truck is more than 50 years old! It wears 1986 series license plates from Hebei Province.
FAW Jiefang (Liberation) CA30 Crane Truck
This beautiful CA30 had a big crane on the back.
Iveco based Communications Vehicle
This 4×4 van is likely based on the Iveco Daily 4×4 that was produced by Nanjing Auto.
Berliet GBC 8KT
Berliet has a very interesting history in China with deals having been struck by the French to sell Berliets to China and China eventually started making Berliets themselves. Read more about that in this fantastic article written by Erik.
Dongfeng EQ2082
This EQ2082 had something hanging off the back, perhaps a crane like the CA30?
Berliet GBC 8KT
No you are not seeing double, the museum has two almost identical Berliets!
Ural 4320
Another Russian truck but much bigger than the GAZ-51. The Ural 4320 has been produced since 1977 and is quite a rare sight in China, I have never seen one outside of this museum before.
FAW Jiefang (Liberation) CA30 based armoured vehicle
This six-wheel drive armoured vehicle is based on Jiefang CA30 mechanicals and was inspired by the Soviet BTR-152.
Toyota Land Cruiser 60-Series
This Land Cruiser used to be a member of the Fire Department of the city of Ono in Hyōgo Prefecture in Japan (it says so on the door). If someone can read some of the Japanese text and send me a translation it would be much appreciated!
Toyota Land Cruiser FJ55
The FJ55 is one of the weirdest looking Land Cruisers but also one of the coolest as it came in vibrant two-tone paint schemes. This would’t be the only FJ55 in China either (imcdb).
Toyota Land Cruiser FJ45 Troop Carrier
A legend in my native Australia, the FJ40 and FJ45 series Land Cruisers are an icon in many parts of the world. In China they were relatively rare but a few were imported. This one was still driving until at least 2001.
Land Rover Series III
The modern day defender goes for big bucks in China with people for some reason willing to spend 100,000 USD to get their hands on one! This Series III was in fairly good condition and was right-hand drive. I would say that it is a recent import for the museum rather than a car that has lived its life in China.
Land Rover Series II
This Series II was in beautiful condition inside and out, likely a recent import.
Mazda Pathfinder XV-1
Also affectionately called the Myanmar Jeep or Mazda Jeep. Not sure how it ended up in China but I would guess it is a recent import.
Mercedes-Benz L-Series Firetruck
The L-series of Mercedes-Benz used to be fairly common, indeed Mercedes-Benz vehicles produced in Iran by Khodro made up a large number of them.
Mercedes-Benz Unimog
A very early Unimog.
Shenfei SF650
Shenfei used to make a lot of buses, part of their product lineup were Nissan Diesel buses from Japan. We can’t say for sure whether there was a deal struck between Shenfei and Nissan Diesel to assemble buses in China but we are looking into it.
Assorted Ford Military Jeeps
Assorted anti-aircraft guns
This concludes Part 3 of my visit to the Weifang Generations Classic Car Museum, stay tuned for more in the coming days!
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