Marking the 70th anniversary of the first vehicle rolling off the assembly line in New China, the FAW Museum has recently opened its doors to the public. Housed within a historic factory building, the museum showcases over 150 physical vehicles and invaluable historical materials from different eras, illustrating the journey of the "Cradle of New China's Automotive Industry" from its humble beginnings to a position of strength and innovation.
The FAW Museum is located in an old factory building made of exposed red bricks, situated inside Gate No. 1 of the FAW factory complex in Changchun, Jilin Province. Originally constructed in 1953, the building once served as the tool workshop for the First Automotive Works and has since been designated a key national cultural relic protection site. The "Tank Stone Road" leading to the museum was specially paved to support heavy vehicles, and countless trucks once traveled this very path to construction sites across the nation.
Upon entering the exhibition hall, the exposed internal beam and column structure immediately conveys the industrial architectural style of the mid-20th century. On July 15, 1953, the foundation stone for the First Automotive Works was officially laid, marking the beginning of New China's automotive industry. A group of sculptures titled "Struggling Against Heaven and Earth" recreates two stories of the builders' arduous efforts during the factory's construction. The left side of the sculpture depicts the summer of 1954, when builders worked through heavy rain, overcoming numerous difficulties like landslides to ensure the project's progress was not delayed. The right side captures the winter construction phase, showing how builders creatively used steam from locomotives, piped into the workshop, to prevent the concrete from freezing.
It was under these challenging conditions that the first domestically produced Jiefang brand truck slowly rolled off the final assembly line on July 13, 1956, ending the era when New China could not manufacture its own vehicles. This dark green truck is now on display in the museum. Its iconic "big nose" long hood and rounded front face reflect the design style of heavy-duty trucks from that era. Details such as the eight horizontal chrome trim strips on the front, a pair of tungsten round lamps (one large, one small), and the inverted windshield wipers all exude the simple power of that time. By crouching down, visitors can see the chassis number 000001, identifying it as New China's first automobile.
After viewing the exhibit, Shi Jinglong, a special-grade CNC machine tool technician at FAW Jiefang Commercial Vehicle Development Institute, expressed his admiration, saying it was incredibly difficult for the pioneers to start from scratch and build New China's first car. "I must take up the baton of the new era, stay rooted in my position, and uphold a craftsman's dedication to my original aspiration," he said.
If New China's first truck had a certain Soviet style, then the first domestically produced car was full of "Chinese flavor." Viewed from the front, the body is predominantly red with white accents. The hood ornament is shaped like a Chinese dragon, symbolizing the soaring of the Eastern dragon. At the rear, two bright red "palace lanterns" replicate the shape of the red gauze lanterns from ancient imperial courts. This Dongfeng CA71 sedan was successfully trial-produced on May 12, 1958, a testament to self-reliance achieved despite a lack of experience.
Just over a month after the Dongfeng sedan was built, FAW set its sights on developing a luxury car. In only 33 days, New China's first luxury car was born on August 1, 1958, and was named "Hongqi" (Red Flag). The car is stately and dignified, with a hood ornament shaped like a red flag unfurling in the wind. The front grille features a Chinese folding fan pattern, the bumper guards are shaped like auspicious clouds, and the taillights continue the "palace lantern" design. The elongated body, combined with chrome beltlines, exudes an aura of elegance.
On the opening day of the FAW Museum, Jia Yanliang, the nearly 90-year-old designer of the Hongqi CA770, was deeply moved when he saw the vehicle he designed in his twenties, along with models from various eras. "Seeing these cars, I feel they have always carried the unique characteristics and grandeur of Chinese automobiles," he said.
After appreciating the classic models, the futuristic Hongqi "Tiannian 1" flying car draws visitors' attention to the future. Its sleek, glossy black cabin with gold trim, and the eight-rotor支架 mounted on the roof, give this split-body, air-ground vehicle a strong sci-fi feel. It can take off and land vertically without a runway, has an air range of 200 kilometers, and is equipped with multiple safety technologies. This flying car turns the dream of "low-altitude travel" into reality.
Over more than 70 years, New China's automotive industry has pioneered from a starting point of poverty and weakness, grown through the waves of reform and opening-up, and now leads the trend of industrial development in the new era. The FAW Museum presents this magnificent journey, conveying a power of continuous endeavor, which perfectly corresponds to the eight characters on the museum's entrance doors: "Independence, Self-Reliance."
Curator's Perspective
Pan Cheng, a member of the FAW Museum preparation team and one of the curators, explained that the museum breaks away from the traditional model of simply listing brands and models. Instead, it follows the theme of "Cradle of Cars, Powerhouse for the Nation" to create an immersive, time-traveling narrative exhibition system. The exhibition layout traces FAW's development over more than 70 years. Through the layered shifting of natural light and scene atmosphere, it integrates the heavy industrial landscape, red historical heritage, and cutting-edge technological achievements, concretely presenting the transformation of the national automotive industry from pioneering and overcoming difficulties to leading through technological innovation. The museum features unobstructed, immersive displays for key models like the Jiefang CA10 and Hongqi CA772, paired with 1:1 scale replicas of old-style workshop scenes, allowing visitors to see, trace, and emotionally connect with these static industrial relics. The museum also features interactive areas such as a workshop office, a Hongqi assembly workbench, an immersive Hongqi cockpit experience, and a display of Eastern aesthetics, allowing visitors of all ages and interests to deeply engage with the exhibits. Text by Wang Xiaolin, Video by Jiang Mingming, Poster by Zhao Yuxi.