Production of the Type 59, a licence-built Soviet T-54A (Ob'yekt 137G), started in 1958 and was the first domestically produced medium tank in the People's Republic of China and the cornerstone of the PLAGF for more than 4 decades. Although there were plans to build a domestic T-34-85, with all necessary parts ready for production, Project 156 and the subsequent transfer of the T-54A's schematics put an end to these plans. The newly built Factory 617 (now NORINCO Inner Mongolia First Machinery Works) assembled 32 T-54As from CKD parts while they were producing the required parts for what would be known as the Type 59 after the year of its certification. Due to the Sino-Soviet split, the People's Republic of China had to wait another few years to truly start mass production of the tank with completely domestic parts; these tanks subsequently received different upgrades, including a new FCS and main cannon in the 1980s, and a further modernization in the 1990s improved protection. The Type 59s were eventually replaced by new domestic tanks during the first 20 years of the 21st Century, and now serve as reserve tanks or shooting-range targets for new PLAGF weapons.

The Type 59 (Chinese: (ZTZ)59式中型坦克; industry code WZ120) was introduced in Update 1.91 "Night Vision" alongside the initial Chinese tech-tree. It is a famous part of the PLA's Cold War tank inventory, saw service with many countries, and set the stage for many later developments. While basically a licence-produced version of the Soviet T-54A, in part because of the simplified construction, the Type 59 looks very much like the T-54 (1951). The most noticeable differences are the fume extractor at the tip of the gun barrel and the different road wheels, similar to the T-55A. Internally, the Type 59 differs from the T-54 by having a single-plane stabilizer and a different ammunition selection. It helps to get accustomed to this grandfather of Chinese tanks, as the later Type 69, ZTZ59D1, and T-69 II G are its descendants and handle similarly. Succeeding the Type 59 is the Type 69, which improves on the Type 59 in many areas except its new, yet disappointing smoothbore cannon.