985 Factory

Biodata

Background / History

985 Factory was established as a confidential project of the Fifth Ministry of Machine Industry. Both its project and design code were “985,” which became its internal name; externally, it operated as State-run Shuanghe Machinery Factory, or Shuanghe Factory. It was absent from maps and had no public mailing address; external correspondence was routed through “Shancheng 6015 Mailbox.” 239 409

Built as a Third Front military enterprise, the factory was deliberately concealed in deep mountain valleys according to the principle of “reliance on the mountains, dispersion, and concealment.” It formerly produced large-caliber artillery, including howitzers. 536 697

By 1987, the factory was undergoing a military-to-civilian conversion. Its workshops had shifted from cannon production to items including automobile wheels, mufflers, metal fuel tanks, and hydraulic pliers. 1124

Layout and Facilities

• The factory grounds extend for several kilometers through mountains and forests, with workshops dispersed across multiple valleys. 317 520
• Blue- or green-brick workshop buildings are concealed among vegetation, alongside numerous air-raid shelters. Aircraft reportedly surveyed the site before construction to confirm its concealment. 409 781
• The Assembly Workshop lies behind the factory’s main building. 536
• Workshops producing gun barrels and recoil mechanisms are housed in large karst caves on the mountainside; workers access them by cable car. 536 1006
• Residential districts are located near the school area, including Building 17 in Zone 1. 536
• Mountain roads between factory areas are difficult to traverse. 317 966

Education and Community

The factory includes a Children’s Middle School and a Vocational School. Han Aimin teaches physics at the former and mathematics at the latter. 176 524

The Vocational School has only a principal and director of studies as full-time staff. Academic teachers are drawn from the Children’s Middle School, technical instructors from factory departments, and practical-training teachers from workshops. Its three-year program primarily prepares employees’ children for assignment to factory workshops or supporting Third Front enterprises in the Shancheng area. 459 536

Story Role / Major Arcs

Han Aimin’s Return

Han Aimin awakens at 985 Factory after a fall, finding himself returned to 1987. The factory is both his former workplace and the place to which he longs to return after being laid off in the future; he resolves to change his life and destiny. 139 143

The Howitzer Transport Incident

Han learns that his eldest brother-in-law, Huang Haishan, is leading the transport of two howitzers to a train station when a broken tow hook sends one cannon into a ravine. The accident threatens Huang’s imminent promotion from substitute cadre to full cadre and drives Han to rush toward the Assembly Workshop and rear-mountain firing range. 409 536 711

Notable Personnel

• Han Aimin — Physics teacher at the Children’s Middle School and mathematics teacher at the Vocational School; returns to the factory in 1987 and seeks to alter his family’s future. 176 524
• Zhong Jianyu — Former military cadre assigned as a political teacher at the Children’s Middle School after transferring to the factory. 139
• Huang Haishan — Factory child, former soldier, Economic Police deputy captain, and substitute cadre in the Security Department; his howitzer transport accident endangers his promotion. 409 536
• Zhang Shengbing — Han Aimin’s second brother-in-law and an Assembly Workshop worker who helps him reach the firing range by motorcycle. 143 248