Type 56
With the Soviet communist parties support, the Chinese started out with AKMs (AK47's are actually rarly produced. All those photos on the internet and books are actually AKM), which then they copied into their official first gun, the Type 56 Assault rifle. The Type 56 assault rifle is the Chinese copy of the Kalashnikov AK-47 and AKM assault rifle, which has been manufactured since 1956. It was produced by State Factory 66 between 1956 and 1973, then by Norinco from 1973 onwards. Almost an exact copy of the AKM (stamped metal version of the AK47 which weighs a few pounds less). Visually, most versions of the Type 56 are distinguished from the AK-47 and AKM by the fully enclosed hooded front sight (all other AK pattern rifles, including those made in Russia, have a partially open front sight). Many versions also feature a folding bayonet attached to the barrel just aft of the muzzle. There are three different types of bayonets made for Type 56 rifles.
Type 81
The Type 81 assault rifle was the principal automatic rifle used by the Chinese People's Liberation Army from the mid-1980s until 1995. The weapon was introduced into PLA service in 1981 but did not become widely distributed until the late 1980s. It replaced the Type 56 rifle. Its first combat use came during the Sino-Vietnamese border conflicts of the mid 1980s. Currently the PLA is in the process of replacing the Type 81 with the Type 95 or Type 03 series of weapons, but full conversion is not expected until the mid-2010s. Type 81 incorporates elements of the Dragunov Sniper Rifle, SKS, and AK series rifles in general looks.
The rifle is cosmetically influenced on the Type 56 license produced AK-47, but with a SKS-like Short-stroke-gas-piston design and improvements to reduce the recoil and muzzle jump, giving better firing accuracy. The Type 81 rifle retains the general layout of AK-47 but isn't an improved variant of the license produced AK-47(the Type 56), some major difference is the positioning of aiming sights and stock of the rifle.
The most easily distinguishable feature is an exposed muzzle part of the barrel. The foresight moved back for a modification to fire rifle grenades from the barrel. There is a significant gap between the trigger guard and the magazine on Type 81 rifles, while on the Type 56 series the magazine is adjacent to the front of the trigger guard. The Type 81 rifle is a short-stroke gas-operated design, while the Type 56 are long-stroke designs. On Type 81 rifles the non-detachable spike-shaped bayonet was also replaced with a detachable knife-bayonet. The Type 81 can be fed from the older Type 56 30-round magazines, or from 75-round drums intended for the Type 81 light machine gun.
