Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery - Hearse

Hearse

For the first few years, there was no hearse for Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, vehicles were temporarily drafted from other governmental establishments or hired from private businesses when needed. In 1956, three vehicles were assigned to Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery: a Polish truck, a World War II Japanese Toyota truck nicknamed "Potato vehicle" by the workers due to its round nose, and an American Jeep towing a trailer where the cadaver was placed.

In 1962, more than a dozen GAZ-63 trucks were reassigned to Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery at once, from the 13th Plant of Passenger Coaches (客车十三厂), but the original three vehicles did not completely retire until Cultural Revolution had started. When the Field Marshal Chen Yi died in February 1972, the Chinese government finally realized that trucks acting as hearses was not adequate for special occasions such as funerals of important governmental figures. An emergency order was given to the 4th Plant of Passenger Coaches (客车四厂) to produce a true hearse, and after consulting with workers at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, a purpose built hearse was pressed into service just a few months after the order was given. The hearse was based on the chassis of Liberation Truck, and thus also used the same Liberation brand.