THE fabled Hongqi or Red Flag was China's first domestically produced sedan and the limousine chosen by Chairman Mao Zedong and other leaders. Cheng Lu and Liu Xin talk to a collector of automotive nostalgia.

For years, the sedan and limousine of choice of China's leaders was Hongqi, or Red Flag, a stately, domestically hand-crafted automobile that was synonymous with power and status.

Hongqi was part of Chinese history, a thing of pride, and it was seen in thousands of photographs over the years of Chairman Mao Zedong and others taking part in parades and waving to cheering people.

No more. Today luxury imports such as Audi are preferred. Though a Hongqi revitalization effort is underway, it hasn't made much of an impact yet.

One Hongqi fan and collector has opened a private classic car museum in Beijing, capital of China.

Eighty kilometers north of the city, the Beijing Classic Car Museum has 200-plus old limousines and other vehicles including Chinese and foreign brands like Hongqi, Ford, Dodge, Desoto, Mercedes-Benz and Volga.

Among them are 36 Hongqi vehicles sedans and limousines, and they are the favorites of Luo Wenyou, the museum's owner.

"Some were once used by Chairman Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai and Marshal Nie Rongzhen," the 58-year-old collector says.

"Hongqi represents China and Chinese car manufacturing at its best," says Luo. "Each part, from the smallest screws to the engine, was developed and manufactured by Chinese people themselves."

In 1956, the Communist Party of China held its Central Political Bureau meeting. Chairman Mao expressed his wish to be driven to the meeting in a domestically manufactured car.

At the time, China's auto industry was budding as the country's First Automobile Works (FAW) broke ground in 1953 in Changchun, capital city of Jilin Province in the northeast.

"'Live up to Mao's expectations, make a desirable car dedicated to him' became a slogan," Luo says.

In 1958, the first Hongqi sedan was produced by the FAW in response to Mao's wish.

Since its debut as the parade sedan at Tian'anmen Square in 1959 during China's 10th National Day celebration, the Hongqi has always played a major ceremonial role.

The brand has been the nation's pride because of its links with Party leaders and important events.

Production ended in 1981 because of high fuel consumption and competition from luxury foreign imports.

Since 1964, Hongqi was the official sedan for state guests, replacing the former Soviet Union's ZIS.

"In the 1960s and 1970s, being driven in a Hongqi ranked, alongside visiting Chairman Mao and staying at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, as one of the highest privileges for foreign dignitaries," Luo says.

In 1961, Indonesian President Sukarno paid a visit to China and was driven along Tian'anmen Square in a Hongqi CA72 Cabriolet to salute cheering crowds of Chinese people. At first he stood and then, after he got tired, he stepped onto the backseat, seated himself on the back of the car and continued to wave.

Premier Zhou noticed that Sukarno made a good impression and called for a review car in which leaders and guests could comfortably stand up or sit down.

One year later, First Automobile Works turned out a limousine that fit the bill. Passengers could press a button and the seat would rise so someone could appear to be standing.

Luo's collection includes a special car, containing a stretcher bed and curtains, for Zhou who was struggling with cancer. Zhou could be driven around but no one could see him.

Owner Luo was born in the countryside in north China's Hebei Province and went into business when he was age 24. He became wealthy by running a transport company, a waste disposal site and auto repair shop.

In 1978, when private cars were a rarity in China, Luo started collecting classic cars from around the world and has poured tens of millions of yuan into his collection.

"I can't count how much I have spent, but to me the cars are priceless," Luo says.

His started driving a Hongqi in 1998 when the Louis Vuitton Classic Car Rally came to China. Luo drove the Hongqi CA770, with three rows of seats, from Dalian in Liaoning Province to Beijing. He was the only Chinese driver.

At that time he had around 60 classics to choose from, including may high-performance foreign autos.

"But I chose the Hongqi because a Chinese entrant should drive his own Chinese car in the rally," Luo says.

Luo's first Hongqi is a V8 CA770 that belonged to Marshal Nie (1899-1992), one of the 10 marshals in the People's Liberation Army.

Luo says he was moved to tears during the rally as spectators shouted, "Long live China! Long Live Hongqi!" Crowds lined the streets, cheering and taking photos, filled with pride in the Chinese-made limo.

"The rally changed me from an ordinary fan of classic cars to a lover of Chinese-made limousines, especially the Hongqi," Luo says.

Since then his aim is to let more people know about the history and value of Hongqi.

After the rally, Luo sold his businesses and house and immersed himself in collecting Chinese classic autos. His obsession used to anger his family, but nothing could stop him.

In 2005, he went to Beijing to build a classic car museum, but at first he was rebuffed.

In 2009, after spending 8 million yuan (US$1.2 million), he opened a two-story building covering 3,000 square meters. He went from being a multimillionaire to a church mouse.

"It takes a certain kind of strength to collect these cars, and a very different kind of energy to promote them and let people know about their value," he says.

At first, Luo aimed to exhibit Chinese cars as they reflected the history of the nation. But only a few schoolchildren and individuals visited.

It was a losing proposition and still isn't making money.

He doesn't have enough to maintain and repair his collection.

Tickets cost 50 yuan per person. Luo also rents cars for exhibitions and movie shoots.

Many people have offered to buy the highlight of his collection, a 10.08-meter-long Hongqi, but Luo has refused.

The super-long, 10-passenger V8 is equipped with a refrigerator, TV, telephone and, of course, air-conditioning. Naturally the seats are made of leather.

"How could our country produce such a great limousine in the 1970s? Its technology and design are so amazing that even now many countries cannot produce one," he says, declining to say how it came into his possession.

According to the First Automotive Works research institute, this Hongqi in Luo's collection was ordered by Chairman Mao in the early 1970s. It was completed in 1976, the year of Mao's death, and it was never used.

Before the 1980s, the Hongqi reigned supreme in China, but its popularity waned with the influx of advanced foreign cars.

In 1981 the government ordered an end to Hongqi limousine production.

"The year 1981 was a watershed in China's domestic auto industry," Luo says.

Hongqi were produced again, starting in 1995, but most used Audi and other engines. Luo says that today's Chinese autos, including Hongqi, have higher technology and quality but lack a sense of history.

In Beijing, there are 21 Audi dealerships but only three FAW dealers.

"I like the Hongqi brand but worry about its quality," says Shulei Chris on Sina weibo, Chinese version of Twitter.

She intends to buy a BMW 320li for 350,000 yuan (US$56,157) and indicates that domestically made cars are not competitive in quality and after-sale service.

China remained the world's largest producer and market for automobiles for the fourth consecutive year in 2012.

"I hope a Chinese car with good brand history and quality will be thrust into the world spotlight one day," Luo says. "It may not be Hongqi but it carries the dreams of all Chinese people."