An Isuzu television bus, seen under a flyover of the Third Ring Road in Beijing in 2005. It looked like it had been there for quite a while. The yellow 京A license plate is very old and ultra rare.
CAV stands for the China Audio & Video Recordings Corporation. This was a state-owned national audiovisual publishing and distribution business, operating directly under the Ministry of Culture.
They were founded in 1984 and made all sorts of shows for television, including shows about the Chinese military. They also produced VCD’s and DVD’s for local and international markets. So if you ever bought a VCD about Chinese history in the it was most likely made by CAV.
In China, these state owned companies saw regular reorganizations, and today the CAV does not exist anymore as a separate unit. There is not much to remember them by, except of course this beautiful Isuzu bus.
Painted in dark white over lime green. It seemed to be a supporting vehicle for filming on location. Inside I saw all sorts of equipment and there was a frame on the roof for positioning a large camera.
Maybe at one point in the future, somebody can use this Isuzu to make a documentary about the history of CAV. She will be the star of the show.