In 2013, images appeared in Western media of what appeared to be an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter being transported by an semi at a rest stop in China.
Rumors swirled about the aircraft - was it the Apache's that had been shot down at the 2003 Battle of Karbala? Was it a perfect clone of the aircraft made for the People's Liberation Army? Was it an Egyptian Apache shot down by militants in the Sinai and later smuggled to China?
There is no evidence that China has ever successfully captured or purchased an AH-64, intact or damaged. It is true that a Apache helicopter was forced down due to hydraulic failures at the Battle of Karbala in 2003, resulting in the capture of both the pilots and the airframe by Iraqi militia forces. The Apache's crew, David Williams and Ronald Young, were taken to Baghdad and held alongside other captured American service members, including Jessica Lynch. They were rescued by special forces soldiers on April 13th, 2003, in the first successful POW rescue mission since the Second World War. Their aircraft, 99-5135, was visually in relatively good shape when captured by Iraqi forces and shown on Iraqi state television. However, following international news media coverage, its location was revealed, subsequently leading to its destruction by coalition strike aircraft. This eliminates the possibility that the Apache on display above is 99-5135.
As for the Sinai theory, many netizens posited online that the aircraft was Egyptian in origin thanks to the particular hue of the paint. There is no indication that VNSA's in the Sinai have ever successfully shot down an Egyptian Apache (much less contacted a foreign government and successfully smuggled it out of the country without interference from Egypt or the United States.) VNSA's in the Sinai do possess MANPADS, however, and have reportedly a downed an Egyptian government Mi-8/17.
In reality, this aircraft is a type of clone, albeit a non-flying one. This particular replica arrived at the China Air Defense Expo Park (中国防空博览园) in Ningbo, China in mid-2011 according to local media. News articles about the arrival very clearly state that the Apache is a replica. Images of its arrival show it on the same trailer from the news articles published in 2013. It is likely that the images shown in the 2013 articles were taken in 2011 and simply surfaced two years later in a popular article by Western aviation outlet The Aviationist. The Ningbo Apache is is on display near the entrance to the park, next to some conventional AAA guns, although its display area has been renovated a few times since its arrival. Recent images from the park show the Ningbo Apache in a state of disrepair, likely suffering damage from accelerated rust due to its proximity to the Pacific. Notably, Ningbo's Air Defense Expo Park is also home to a full scale replica of the PLAAF's own Chengdu J-10 multirole fighter.
It is likely that the Ningbo Apache shares its lineage with a similar replica at the China Aviation Museum (中国航空博物馆). This replica was built by a PLA colonel, Meng Yifeng, in his spare time according to a plaque on site. While not a perfect replica of the Apache, it is visually quite close. Unlike the Ningbo Apache, the replica at the China Aviation Museum lacks a (replica) AN/APG-78 Longbow radar system. The aircraft is now on display in the cavern that once served as an underground aircraft hangar during the facility's life as Shahezhen Airbase. Why the Chinese government has seen fit to build these replicas is unclear, as they are non-flying, imperfect clones of the American gunship. Neither replica is claimed to represent an actual Apache, captured or otherwise.
