Ruins of China's Aviation Engine Factory

　　The former site of China's First Aviation Engine Manufacturing Plant is located in Wuyadong, Yangchangba Town, Dafang County, Guizhou Province.

　　Originally, during the Anti-Japanese War in 1940–the government had planned to build this factory under TianShengQiao (Natural Bridge), but due to air defense concerns, it was later relocated to a deeper, more concealed cave further inside the same Wuyadong area. As a result, the factory buildings and entrances were also situated on the other side of TianShengQiao.

　　The ruins of this old factory from the 1940s — who would have thought such a large-scale factory existed in these deep mountains and forests? Although the factory, which continued to operate after the liberation, was relocated to Guiyang in the early 1980s, the remaining site is still quite impressive. The factory covered an area of 1.2 million square meters, divided into a living area and a production area. Entering through the gate on the north side of the current National Highway 321, you’ll find ancient trees towering overhead, with several Western-style buildings lining the road — this is the production area.

　　The most wartime-characteristic feature is the precision workshop in the production area, located in the most prominent Wuyadong Cave at the end of the factory road. It has three levels: the ground floor, covering 990 square meters, served as various warehouses; the middle floor, 800 square meters, was the machining workshop; and the upper floor, over 700 square meters, was the final assembly workshop. The cave entrance is protected by stone walls, with rows of machine gun loopholes above, showing how heavily guarded it was back then. The cave is equipped with ventilation systems to ensure air circulation. The internal structure of the factory workshops is rigorous and compact, and inside, large slogans from the Cultural Revolution remain, forming another layer of historical imagery.

　　Various office buildings and auxiliary workshops are scattered across the hills outside the cave. Though worn down by time, they remain neatly arranged, preserving their original appearance.

　　In 1939, after the full outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in 1937, faced with a severe war situation, the Air Force Commission decided to establish China’s aviation industry and began preparations to build the country’s first aviation engine manufacturing plant. The initial location was chosen to be Kunming, but during the preparatory stage, the site was heavily bombed by Japanese forces. The location was then moved to Wuyadong Cave in Yangchangba, Dading County (now Dafang County), Guizhou Province.

　　Due to a lack of funds for construction, the Nationalist Government issued a large number of "Aviation Lotteries" nationwide and, taking advantage of Chiang Kai-shek’s 50th birthday, launched a national "Donate Aircraft for the Leader’s Birthday" campaign, raising a total of 3.44 million US dollars. This is the origin of the saying that "Chiang Kai-shek used his birthday money to develop the third-front construction." But wasn’t it really just using the hard-earned money of the people to buy himself a good reputation?

　　After the factory was completed, Chiang Ching-kuo served as the honorary factory director. The first factory director was Li Bailin, a Tsinghua University graduate who studied in the United States; the second director, Wang Shizhuo, was a professor at Tsinghua University and the mentor of Qian Xuesen — he oversaw the design and construction of China’s first aviation wind tunnel; the third director was Gu Guangfu. The production director and chief engineer, Wang Fuqing, went to MIT in the United States in 1942 for his PhD. After returning to China, he participated in the construction and trial production of the aviation engine factory, making outstanding contributions to the manufacture of China’s first 1,000-horsepower aviation engines. After 1949, he became the chief engineer of the Guiyang Mining Machinery Factory. In 1956, he was rated as a first-class engineer (the highest level) and was one of China’s renowned mechanical engineering experts. He later served as vice-chairman of the Guizhou Provincial Political Consultative Conference starting in 1983. Many technical professionals who worked here also made important contributions to the development of China’s aviation industry.

　　Production began at the end of 1942, assembly started in 1943, and by 1944, trial runs were completed, resulting in the first batch of three engines.

　　On March 20, 1943, Chiang Kai-shek visited the factory and dined with more than 1,700 employees on a large lawn of over 50,000 square meters under TianShengQiao. The building where Chiang stayed remains well preserved to this day. However, the stone inscriptions of his calligraphy have been chiseled off, leaving only traces.

　　By the beginning of 1947, 30 aviation engines were finally completed. The Aviation Commission randomly selected one engine and installed it on a plane produced by the First Aircraft Manufacturing Factory in Kunming, which flew directly from Kunming to Nanjing, proving the engine’s excellent performance. With this, the Dading Factory had fulfilled its historic mission of producing China’s first self-made aviation engines. Later, as the Aviation Commission could no longer support the factory in continuing engine production, the factory leveraged its technical strengths to switch to civilian production, becoming the largest auto engine parts production base in Southwest China, with its high-quality parts earning a great reputation throughout the region.

　　In early 1965, according to the national “Third-Front” construction plan, over 700 personnel from Nanjing Jincheng Machinery Factory, Zhuzhou 331 Factory, Xi’an 430 Factory, and some universities used the former site of the “Aviation Engine Factory” in Yangchangba, Dafang County, Guizhou, to establish the State-Owned Jinjiang Machinery Factory. It was under the jurisdiction of the Guizhou Aviation Industry Administration and affiliated with the Ministry of Aviation Industry of China. It became one of the key manufacturers of hydraulic pumps and motors for military aircraft at the time. In the early 1980s, the State-Owned Jinjiang Machinery Factory relocated from Dafang to Guiyang and began setting up a civilian products division. From then on, this once-important factory in Dafang County became a historical site.

　　Fortunately, this site has been preserved, and it was listed as part of the third batch of provincial-level cultural heritage protection units in Guizhou Province in the 1990s. Efforts are underway to apply for national-level cultural heritage status when conditions are right. There are also reports that funding sources have been secured to carry out protective development here.