235th Mechanised Infantry Brigade (The First Jinan Regiment)

Last updated: 31 August 2007

The 235th Mechanised Infantry Brigade of the 27th Group Army (GA) was formed in 1998 on the basis of the 79th Motorised Infantry Division, which was downsized to brigade as a result of the PLA’s 500,000 force reduction programme.

Interestingly, unlike other downsized PLA divisions, the newly formed brigade did not inherit the numerical designation of its predecessor unit ‘79th’. Instead, the brigade used the numerical designation of the 235th Motorised Infantry Regiment, an organic regiment of the former 79th Division, so that the regiment’s honour designation “The First Jinan Regiment” could be kept.

The 235th Brigade was initially a truck-mobile motorised infantry brigade, consisting of three motorised infantry battalions. In 2002, the brigade was upgraded to mechanised infantry brigade, equipped with second-hand Type 59 tanks and Type 63 armoured personnel carriers (APC) retired by other units.

Stationed in Xingtai, Hebei Province, the 235th Brigade is currently composed of three (mechanised) infantry battalions, a tank battalion, an artillery (122mm howitzer) battalion, an artillery rocket (130mm MRL) battalion, an AAA (37mm) battalion, a signal battalion, an engineer battalion, a maintenance battalion, and other logistic support elements.