Starting Thursday, people can register online to tour the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy's sole Type 051B destroyer Shenzhen.

The warship will be docked at the Shekou cruise terminal and open to the public on Oct 1-2 in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Built at the Dalian Hongqi Shipyard, the vessel was launched in 1997. It began sea trials in October next year. In February 1999, it was commissioned by the PLA Navy South Sea Fleet and was the largest surface combatant of China at the time.

Hailing from its home port in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, the Shenzhen has gained a reputation as a "diplomatic star", performing numerous goodwill visits to foreign countries and participating in counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. The ship underwent a major refit between 2014 and 2018, significantly upgrading its capabilities to become a guided missile destroyer capable of commanding a joint operations fleet.

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For public tours of the vessel, real-name registration is required. Interested participants can sign up through the official WeChat accounts of PLA Navy South Sea Fleet (“南海舰队”), Nanshan district government (”南山文体通” or “创新南山”) or the cruise terminal operator (“招商蛇口邮轮母港”). The interface is in Chinese.

The registration process begins at 10 am on Thursday for the Oct 1 visit, and 10 am on Friday for the Oct 2 visit. It may take two to three days to verify the registration information, with successful bookings confirmed via SMS and WeChat alerts.

This open-house event offers a rare opportunity for the public to get an up-close look at the former flagship of South Sea Fleet, whose journey stands as a testament to the advancements in China's warship design and construction capabilities.

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The article is translated from the original reports in Chinese as published on the official website of Shenzhen Special Zone Daily