China Record Factory

Officially founded in 1955, the history of the China Record Factory (中国唱片厂) in Shanghai stretches back to 1917 when it was established as the China Record & Phonograph Co. When Shanghai fell under Japanese rule in 1937, the company became known as the Great Shanghai Gramophone Co. and produced Peacock-brand records. Between 1944 and 1946, it underwent two more minor name changes before becoming known as the Greater China Record Factory in 1946 and, in 1949, the People's Record Factory in a liberated Shanghai. In 1952 it became the Shanghai Record Factory, only to be renamed again in 1953, to the Shanghai People's Record Factory.

In 1954, the record production facilities (Bejing People's Record Factory) of the Beijing People's Broadcast Equipment Factory were moved to Shanghai and merged with the Shanghai People's Record Factory in 1955, to finally create the China Record Factory. This coincided with the creation of the new 中国唱片 label.