The 3rd Army Division () (2nd Formation) was created in May 1969 from Beijing and Shenyang Military Region and soon sent to Ili, Xinjiang under the direct control of Xinjiang Military Region. The division was then composed of:
In December 1969 the division was renamed as 7th Army Division, while former 7th Army Division renamed as new 3rd Army Division.
The re-formation and re-designation of several army divisions in Xinjiang showed apparent evidence that there might be plans to re-activate 2nd Army Corps and 3rd Army Corps, even 4th Army Corps of the PLA. For unknown reasons these corps were not formed at last.
By then the division was composed of:
In 1985 the division was renamed as 7th Infantry Division (), becoming a Northern Infantry Division, Catalogue B unit.
In 1996 the division was transferred to the People's Armed Police and renamed as 7th Armed Police Division ().
The Artillery Regiment, 7th Infantry Division was re-organized and renamed as 706th Regiment, 7th Armed Police Division. All artillery battalions in infantry regiments were also re-organized as the 4th mobile battalion of the regiments. Now the division is composed of:
The division is stationed in Ili, Xinjiang for anti-terrorist and anti-separatist missions.
In 2018 the division was merged into the .