A fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ended
a 79-day voyage and arrived this port city in east China's Shandong Province on Tuesday, after visiting
four ports in the United States, Canada and the Philippines.
At 10:00 AM, a grand ceremony was held at the Navy port, to
welcome the fleet, composing the missile destroyer, "Qingdao", and
the depot ship, "Lake Hongze", with 506 officers and men on
board.
On Aug. 21, the fleet left Qingdao Port, since then, it traveled
17,000 sea miles and successfully passed through three typhonic
centers.
During the journey, Chinese and the US navy held their first
joint maritime exercise.
(China.org.cn, Xinhua News Agency November 8, 2006)
