A PLA Navy carrier battle group sails in formation. MO XIAOLIANG/FOR CHINA DAILY Humanitarian actions win praise as the force celebrates its 70th birthday. Zhang Zhihao reports. In May 2002, vessels from the People's Liberation Army Navy embarked on the force's first round-the-world voyage, opening a new chapter in its global outreach and cooperation. Having set sail from a base in Qingdao, Shandong province, guided-missile destroyer CNS Qingdao and supply ship CNS Taicang visited 10 countries, from Singapore to Brazil. The voyage lasted four months and covered more than 30,000 nautical miles (55,560 kilometers), according to records from the Ministry of National Defense. Long-distance voyages are often regarded as coming-of-age experiences for navies capable of such feats. The 2002 voyage represented a major upgrade of the PLA Navy's operational abilities in far-flung oceans since it began visiting neighboring countries in 1985. Major General Ding Yiping, commander of the fleet for the 2002 world tour, told Xinhua News Agency that port calls by warships and goodwill visits are a special kind of peacetime diplomacy. Such visits are also a key way of helping to modernize the PLA Navy and improve mutual exchanges, understanding and friendship between the navies of China and foreign powers, according to Ding. The tour showcased China's resolve to maintain world peace, and demonstrated that the PLA Navy is a mighty, civilized and peaceful military force, he said. silicone wristbands bulkcustom rubber wristbandssilicone wrist braceletsbest price silicone wristbandssiliconeband ca
Photo taken on July 5 shows a climate observatory in Qionghai, Hainan province. [Photo/IC] BEIJING - China will speed up establishing national climate observatories, an official from China Meteorological Administration (CMA) said on Tuesday. Climate change has become a worldwide concern, and to address the problem it is necessary to conduct comprehensive observations of the climate system, Zhang Zuqiang, director of the emergency relief and public service department of CMA, said at a press conference. The national climate observatories will function as integrated meteorological stations to carry out long-term, consecutive and all-around monitoring of the multilayered climate systems and the interactions among different layers. The observatories will also serve as a platform for scientific research and talent cultivation and they will be open to administrations at home and abroad, Zhang added. During the implementation of the 13th five-year plan in China, which extends from 2016 to 2020, CMA will establish national climate observatories in 16 critical areas in the climate systems which are sensitive to interactions among distinctive layers and exchanges of mass and energy, Zhang said. In 2007, five meteorological observation stations in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and provinces of Anhui, Guangdong, Yunnan, and Gansu had been chosen as the pilot areas for establishing the climate observatories. design silicone wristbands onlinepersonalized bracelets for boyfriendsilicone medical alert wristbandsbracelet montre silicone orangerubber band bracelets pictures<%2fcenter>
