The Type 56 assault rifle commonly known as AK-56 is the Chinese copy of the Kalashnikov AK-47 and AKM assault rifle,which has been manufactured since 1956.
The postfix 56 stands for 1956, the year since when it was manufactured.
It was produced by State Factory 66 between 1956 and 1973, then by Norinco from 1973 onwards.
There is a common perception among people that AK-56 is a newer version of AK-47 but it is not so.
