The rise of China, Inc : how the Chinese Communist Party transformed China into a giant

"It would be an understatement to say that the fate of Mercedes-Benz in China has undergone drastic changes over the past 50 years. In Mao's China in the 1970s, Mercedes cars were a rarity, and only the very top government officials rode in them. During that period, my family and I lived in a government-military compound in the capital city of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang. The compound also housed some ten villas for provincial heads and generals. Of the ten top officials, only one general had a Mercedes sedan, which was given to him as a used car. Back then most Mercedes cars in China were brought from Chinese embassies in foreign countries after the ambassadors used them first. The chauffer of the general in the compound was generous in blowing the car's distinctive horn. Hearing the horn and seeing the car was a big privilege for me to brag about with my friends who did not get to live in the compound."