Some camouflage patterns used by the Chinese military on the southern border frontline in the 1980s Ⅱ

Various Types of "Small Four-Leaf" Camouflage Patterns

There is a claim that the "Small Four-Leaf" pattern is simply the "Large Five-Leaf" pattern with one color removed, but this is inaccurate. While the color blocks of the "Small Four-Leaf" pattern took reference from the "Large Five-Leaf" pattern, it was essentially a redesigned pattern.

The "Small Four-Leaf" pattern emerged quite early and was also used on the "single-sided Bayi (81) camouflage uniform" (commonly known as the "single-sided ghost face" camouflage) in its early days. It is possible that the "Small Four-Leaf" pattern was used in small quantities on the southern border frontline.

More commonly, the "Small Four-Leaf" pattern appeared on a type of double-sided camouflage uniform (whose version might have been improved from the hoodless Bayi (81) camouflage uniform). The reverse side of this double-sided camouflage uniform featured a four-color gravel camouflage pattern, and it was also called the "84 (Basi) camouflage uniform". However, most of these products were manufactured in the late 1980s, and there is also a view that classifies it as the "experimental Type 87 camouflage uniform". In this article, the term "84 (Basi) camouflage uniform" will be used to refer to it.

"Standard type" Small Four-Leaf: The light brown color is likely also white that has changed color after storage. 

Another very common type of Small Four-Leaf: the green and grass-green blocks tend to be similar in color, and the light brown is likely also white that has discolored after storage. 

Northern Variant of the Small Four-Leaf Camouflage

A long time ago, a veteran who served in northern China in the late 1980s showed a camouflage uniform he used back then on Xianyu (China's leading second-hand e-commerce platform). For this northern-type Small Four-Leaf camouflage, the light brown/white color blocks were replaced with black, the dark green ones with white, and the grass-green ones with brown.

Various Types of Four-Color Gravel Camouflage

The four-color gravel camouflage is derived from the five-color leopard-spot gravel camouflage. In addition to being used on various types of 84 (Basi) camouflage uniforms, the four-color gravel pattern was also applied to experimental Type 87 winter field uniforms (utilizing the early version of the Type 87 winter field uniform pattern).

The Type 87 winter field uniforms utilized a variety of camouflage patterns. Among the more common ones were the four-color gravel camouflage and the "Type 87 desert camouflage"-which is the predecessor of the typical "Type 09 large-pattern camouflage" used on the Armed Police Force's Type 06 winter special service uniforms and Type 07 winter field uniforms.

Four-Color Gravel Camouflage,Compared with the five-color gravel camouflage, the four-color gravel camouflage has removed the olive color and undergone slight adjustments to its color blocks. It is commonly found on 84 (Basi) camouflage uniforms, and its light brown color is likely also white that has changed color after storage. 

Variant Gravel Camouflage,Compared with the previous series of gravel camouflages, the color block shape of this variant gravel camouflage has changed significantly. This type of gravel camouflage was mainly used on the camouflage uniforms of some special operations units in the late 1980s and early 1990s (there is a claim that it is called "Type 93 gravel camouflage"). Beyond that, it was also widely applied to Type 90 field training shoes, Type 97 combat boots, and even various types of packages and combat protective gear. Not long ago, the lining cloth of the protective helmets worn by PLA soldiers during the Galwan Valley conflict also used this camouflage.

The aforementioned Type 93 gravel camouflage was not used on the southern border frontline.

Other Experimental Camouflage Patterns

During the Two-Mountain Rotation Campaign, in addition to the typical camouflages developed from the aforementioned Type 4 experimental camouflage uniforms, the Chinese military also used the French military's horizontal-stripe lizard camouflage, various derivatives of the U.S. military's M48/65 series ERDL camouflage, and a certain pattern that might be a variant of the tiger-stripe camouflage.

It is practically impossible to render the horizontal-stripe lizard camouflage, so it will not be displayed here.

Note: There is a claim that this tiger-stripe variant was copied from a Vietnamese tiger-stripe variant known as "bamboo leaf tiger-stripe". I previously also accepted this view. However, after consulting materials, it was found that the Vietnamese "bamboo leaf tiger-stripe" is the K94 camouflage, which was not equipped until the 1990s, and its pattern differs greatly from this camouflage. Therefore, this claim is incorrect.

A camouflage pattern that may be derived from the tiger-stripe camouflage. This camouflage is also known as "Flying Tiger Camouflage"-because some of this type of camouflage uniforms that emerged in recent years have a Flying Tiger insignia on the chest. 

A certain type of experimental camouflage pattern

A certain type of experimental camouflage pattern, whose black color blocks seem to have taken reference from the U.S. military's ERDL series camouflage.