The Chery Eastar Parade Car From China

Tycho de Feyter
by Tycho de Feyter
the chery eastar parade car from china

Hongqi is the most famous brand in China when it comes to parade cars. In 2008 however, Chery tried to change that with help from the Chinese army and some astronauts. The Eastar parade car debuted in April 2008 and was used for a very special military parade. Or more like a parade of parades.

The Eastar parade car was stretched by 20 centimeters in the middle, the roof went off. After a handle bar was installed behind the front seats, the car was ready for duty. The project was initiated by the People’s Liberation Army’s General Armament Department. This department was responsible, among many other duties, for taking care of China’s astronauts.

‘Taking care’ included organizing the many parades throughout the country after the astronauts had returned from space. Until then, the army had always used Hongqi parade cars for the parties, but they wanted something more ‘Chinese’ for the heroes of the Shenzhou VII mission. The Hongqi after all, was not much more than a rebadged Audi with a Nissan engine.

National pride was indeed at stake here! The Shenzhou VII mission marked the first time that China shot a rocket tipped with 3 astronauts into space and one of those astronauts made China’s first spacewalk. The astronaut, Zhai Zhigang, waved around with a small Chinese flag while ‘walking’ in the endless nothing next to the spacecraft. After that achievement, a China-sized party was called for. The army therefore wanted a truly Chinese vehicle and on they went to Chery Automotive. Chery happily complied by making three Eastar parade cars.

September 29, 2008. The Shenzhou mission was successful and the astronauts had safely returned on earth. After saying ni hao to the wives, it was time for the parades. Pictures are from the parade in Beijing but they paraded in many other cities including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and even Hong Kong.

Zhai Zhigang in the first car, the other two astronauts are Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng. Note white army plates and the many soldiers around. The Chery-logo was painted in gold.

The moment: September 27, at around 16:43 (0843 GMT), Zhai walked in space for 20 minutes.

More pictures of the Chery Eastar parade car are in the gallery.

Dutchman Tycho de Feyter runs Carnewschina, a blog about cars in China, from Beijing, China. He also collects die-cast models of Chinese cars.



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  • Jeff S No it should be based on the violation and the fine on speeding should be based on how much above the speed limit the violator is going. Anything 5 mph are below should not be ticketed.
  • Lou_BC TTAC is once again light on details. Why let facts interfere with the news? "Wiklöf has a history of having a lead foot. He received a $106,000 (95,000 euros) fine in 2013 and a $68,000 (63,680 euros) citation in 2018, according to the newspaper.""Wiklöf controls 100 percent of the Wiklöf Holding company that runs over 20 businesses in the logistics, construction, helicopter services, real estate, trade, and tourism sectors.  According to its website, the company had a turnover the equivalent of $264 million (247 million euros) in 2020 and an operating profit of $11.7 million (11 million euros)." No sympathy for this dude.
  • Fahrvergnugen Internet says average age of cars in US is 12.5 years old. All of mine are older. Getting rid of emergency broadcasting is about as stupid as outlawing ICE.
  • Wheatridger The AM radio in my 2017 Ford PHEV works just fine, BTW.
  • KOKing This doesn't seem to make much sense, unless the intent is to replace the (ancient) 4Runner, as they're platform mates as it is, and both from a functional and market standpoint, the 4Runner and Prado seem to be the same thing tailored to the US vs ROW.
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