Touring a Chinese AK47 Factory

By Garry James

Back in the late 1980s, an AK47 coming into the United States had been produced in the People’s Republic of China. At that time, China had not achieved the prominence it has today as one of the world’s major economic and manufacturing forces.

Among its more popular exports were semiauto versions of the AK47. They were inexpensive, worked well and were sold by the thousands. One of the makers was Poly Technologies, with an importer headquartered in the state of Georgia.

Because of the widespread acceptance of the company’s products, the people at Poly Technologies felt it would be appropriate for a journalist to visit one of the company’s factories and see just how the guns were turned out. As it so happened, I was chosen by the company’s representatives because of my writings on various types of military firearms. Needless to say, the invitation was graciously accepted.

In 1987, Beijing looked nothing like it does today. In fact, automobiles were scarce and neon signs—or any kind of advertising, for that matter—nonexistent, …Read the Rest

Source:: Guns and Ammo