China kicks off celebration to mark 60th anniversary of navy

2009-04-20 10:48:20 GMT2009-04-20 18:48:20 (Beijing Time) Xinhua English

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) kicked off a grand maritime ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of its navy at 6 p.m. Monday off the coast of the eastern city of Qingdao. (Xinhua)

QINGDAO, April 20 (Xinhua) -- China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) kicked off a grand maritime ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of its navy at 6 p.m. Monday off the coast of the eastern city of Qingdao.

PLA Navy Commander Admiral Wu Shengli announced the start of the four-day festivities, which would include seminars, a sampan race and a fleet parade.

A total of 21 naval vessels from 14 other countries and delegations from 29 foreign countries will join the parade.

The PLA Navy was founded on April 23, 1949 with nine warships and 17 boats obtained after a unit of the Kuomintang's second coastal defense fleet defected to the PLA.

EMAIL | PRINT | RSS

Add Your Comments:

Please read our Terms of Service. Messages that harass, abuse or threaten others; have obscene or otherwise objectionable content; have spam, commercial or advertising content or links may be removed.