中国海军：穿越世纪夙愿，走向深蓝远航。

One year ago, you might have been impressed by the skills of the Chinese Navy (海军) soldiers in the film Operation Red Sea (《红海行动》). Now, once again, you may be amazed by the great achievements that the Chinese Navy has made.

On April 23, a big naval parade (阅兵) took place near east China’s city of Qingdao. The parade was held to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding (建立) of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy.

The PLA Navy sent out 32 ships and 39 warplanes for the parade – including some of China’s newest destroyers (驱逐舰) and submarines (潜艇). But back in 1949, when it was founded in Taizhou of Jiangsu province, the Chinese Navy only had 20 old ships in its earliest days.

The last 70 years have proven that whether or not the PLA Navy has many ships or advanced (先进的) weapons, it has always been a protector of the nation and its people. Actually, some of the things the soldiers did in the movie Operation Red Sea are based on things that the real PLA Navy has done.

In March 2015, a war broke out in Yemen. A Chinese naval fleet (舰队) rescued (救) 621 Chinese people, as well as over 270 people of other countries, from the area within nine days.

The Navy also fights pirates (海盗) in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia. Since 2008, it has provided protection to more than 6,600 Chinese and foreign ships.

Now, the Navy is on its way toward becoming a “world-class force”, Xinhua said. And it will always be “a force for peace”.

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Did you know?

The PLA Navy has troops (军队) on the water, on land and in the air.

The marine corps (海军陆战队) has landing ships (登陆舰) and usually carries out landing tasks. The naval aviation force (海军航空兵部队) has fighter jets that cooperate with troops on the water. TEENS

Three fleets keep the waters safe

Just as the Chinese PLA Army (陆军) is divided into 13 group armies (集团军), the Navy is made up of three fleets (舰队). Each fleet is then divided into smaller groups. Each fleet takes care of certain sea areas. See the navy’s three fleets in the picture on the right:

How are the ships named?

Every ship in the PLA Navy has its own name. Different types of ships are named after different areas. What are they? Here are some examples.