The 82nd Division (Chinese: 第82师) was created in February 1949 under the Regulation of the Redesignations of All Organizations and Units of the Army, issued by Central Military Commission on November 1, 1948,.
Its history can be traced to the 7th Division, Shandong Military Region, formed in August 1946.
It was then composed of: In November 1969, the division was redeployed to Hongdong, Shanxi along with the 28th Army Corps.
On June 4, 1989, when marching eastward at Muxidi (Chinese: 木樨地), the division was blocked by thousands of protesters.
It was then reconstituted as 81st Special Operations Brigade(Chinese: 特战第81旅), as a functioning part of the 81st Army[5][6]