If an aircraft carrier can be seen as a micro-society, women must be a minority in terms of numbers. However, in this usually male-dominated world, the female members of the Liaoning's crew, including those from China's ethnic groups, are making their mark.

As a head of the ship's radar squad, He Xie is the only woman among the exclusively male team. But the 27-year-old college graduate cares more about improving her capabilities, along with the rest of the group, than the gender difference.

"Everyone on Liaoning has a serial number, which doesn't indicate gender," she said. "Even though I graduated as an engineering major, I still have to work hard because I'm faced with so much equipment I've never seen before."