One of the highlights of the show this year was the collection of vintage 红旗 Hong Qi (Red Flag) government service cars. This great collection is owned by Beijing car collector Luo Wenyou 骆文有.
He has a large collection of vintage and classic cars he has gathered up from all over China. He is particularly fond of communist China's first domestically designed and produced car, the Red Flag.
Hong Qi were built and assigned to communist party leaders and government ministries beginning in the late 1950's. Just over 1,000 cars were built over a period of 20 years.
Later these cars passed into private ownership, and later became merely big old cars much like happened to 1930's Cadillacs, Lincolns, Packards, and Duesenburgs in the US in the 1950's. Relatively few survive.
This sedan above is one of the first five Hong Qi prototype's hand built in the late 1950's.
The sedan above is a later production model of the 1958 first generation prototype design.
In 1959 this model car went into large scale production as the CA72 model and saw widespread distribution and use celebrating modern China's 10th year anniversary.
In 1965 the Red Flag was adopted as the official government car for the use of foreign guests-of-state in China, replacing foreign car brands.
This 1976 Hong Qi limousine above is a one-of-a-kind and was built for Chairman Mao. This car is over 10 meters long and was the longest car in Asia at the time.
Mobile phone technology has sure come a long way!
The CA770JG inspection convertible above is by far the most attractive Hong Qi model.
The convertible model was produced beginning in 1972 and was used extensively by Chinese leaders such as Zhou Enlai, Li Xiannian, Peng Zhen, and He Long.
Additionally, this convertible model was used for many foreign guests, Heads of State, National Day parades and events, and all manner of inspection/review functions.
Another Chinese car collector, Liu Xiangyang 刘向阳, in Dalian, China has a similar sister car to this parade convertible, though his was made from a sedan and is not an actual production CA770JG car.
Pictured above is a 1967 photo at a rally in Beijing of Chairman Mao Zedong (standing, front, center) and his chosen successor Lin Biao, Defense Minister and Vice Chairman of the CCP, (standing, front, right) in an earlier model 红旗 CA72 parade convertible.
Lin Biao and his family were subsequently killed in a suspicious plane crash in September 1971, after being charged as a conspirator against Mao Zedong. Lin's death was one of the many crises which transpired during Mao's purge and exile of the country's top intellectuals and political and military leaders, defining the Cultural Revolution of 1966-1976.