Making impressions

As the ships made their way from port to port, military officials from host countries were pleasantly surprised to board the vessels and witness their activities firsthand, according to media reports.

Admiral Mykhailo Yezhel, thencommander of the Ukrainian navy, was particularly fascinated by the cooks onboard the Chinese ships, one of whom had made an elaborate sculpture using carrots and white radishes.

Yezhel hoped that cook would be able to stay in Ukraine a little longer, but the Chinese sailors could only stay two days, so the request was politely declined.

Before the Chinese sailors departed for their next destination, Yezhel held Ding's hands and said, "Thank you for letting me know the real Chinese navy and the real China."

Seventeen years have passed since that eventful world tour, and the PLA Navy is bigger and stronger, and no longer needs savvy cooks to make an impression.

As the force celebrates its 70th anniversary on Tuesday, the records show that thousands of sailors along with flotillas of warships have sailed far from China's coastal waters to protect distant sea lanes, uphold peace in conflict zones and safeguard Chinese interests overseas.

Dec 26 marked the 10th anniversary of the PLA Navy's first escort mission in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia. In that decade, China has sent more than 100 ships and 26,000 personnel to the region and helped to escort about 6,600 vessels, half of which were registered overseas or carrying cargo for the UN World Food Programme.

Senior Colonel Liang Fang, a professor at the PLA National Defense University, said that in 2009, 48 percent of global pirate attacks occurred in the areas where Chinese naval escorts were present, but by 2017, the figure had fallen to just 4 percent.