Since the late 1970s, a number of 122 mm self-propelled howitzers (SPH) had been developed in China to meet Chinese army requirements.

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) required a mobile artillery system to provide medium- to long-range indirect fire support for motorised infantry and armoured troops and capable of keeping pace with them.

It was a Chinese attempt to develop an indigenous SPH with similar capabilities to the Soviet 2S1 Gvozdika.

[2] The secondary armament consists of a roof-mounted QJC-88 12.7 mm machine gun.

Its tracked chassis, developed from the Type 77 amphibious armoured personnel carrier, is powered by a 450 hp (340 kW) 12V150L12 diesel engine.