Chinese Type 56 Semi-automatic Rifles Produced at Factory 296

The Type 56 SKS is the most-produced Chinese rifle. Not only did it serve as the primary infantry rifle for the Chinese and North Vietnamese armies between the 1960s and 1980s, it has also become extremely popular on the foreign civilian market, with millions exported from China. As a result of this popularity, factories for the production of components for these rifles proliferated around China—the author grew up next to one of these facilities. Drawing on a range of Chinese-language primary and secondary sources, as well as referencing the author’s own collection of Type 56 SKS rifles, this article provides an in-depth review of the rifle’s origin, technology transfer from the Soviet Union, and Chinese production of the rifle at Factory 296, the facility in which it was produced in the largest numbers. Rifle markings, serial numbering, and modifications are also discussed in detail.