Published : 2026-01-03
On 3 January 1952, the Nanjing Film Machinery Factory was established.
It was the main production base for film machinery in China at the time, which possessed comprehensive design capabilities and production processes for photosensitive materials, mechanics, electricity, and sound.
The Nanjing Film Machinery Factory was China's first state-owned film machinery factory, at that time named the "Central Ministry of Culture Film Machinery Factory". It was affiliated with the Film Bureau of the Ministry of Culture, and was only renamed to its current name in 1952.
In June 1952, the factory produced China's first film projector, the Changjiang 200 model 16mm portable projector.
Thereafter, the factory successively produced China's first 35mm portable projector, widescreen film projection lenses, 16mm and 35mm editing machines, 120 and 135 cameras, 35mm single-frame projectors, 16mm simple film printers, and more, allowing the factory to gradually embark on a development path of serialisation, complete set production, and diversification.
Since 1984, while further developing complete sets of film machinery equipment, the Nanjing Film Machinery Factory also developed and mass-produced microform series products, photocopiers, photographic instruments, slide projectors, cameras, and more, broadening its product range.
By the end of 1985, the Nanjing Film Machinery Factory had supplied the state with over 140 product items, producing a total of over 180,000 projectors (sets) of various types, 399 units of various film production equipment, over 230,000 optical lenses of various kinds, and 22,534 units of other supporting machinery for cinemas.
The factory's main product, the F16-4A 16mm portable projector, had an annual output of over 20,000 units, accounting for over 70% of the domestic market.
By 2012, the Nanjing Film Machinery Factory had packed and warehoused its last batch of film projectors, which from then on became history. At that time there were only 700 registered employees left, the majority of whom were either laid off or had taken early retirement.
Afterwards, the Nanjing Film Machinery Factory could only sustain itself by transitioning to produce some medical device components, leasing land, and other means.
