The port call by eight PLA navy vessels may be an attempt to impress with military might, but nine-year-old Chu Sin-yee was more concerned with other matters.
'Many of them are very handsome. I've taken many photographs with them,' she said, inspecting the sailors in their white uniforms.
She was among thousands who turned up at Ngong Shuen Chau Naval Base on Stonecutter's Island where two destroyers, four frigates and two submarines of the People's Liberation Army are docked during their six-day call in Hong Kong.
The two submarines are not allowed to be boarded and visitors can only walk along the decks of the other vessels. And Sin-yee worked out that something else was missing.
'Why aren't there any female sailors?' she asked one of the officers, who then explained to her that women were only recruited for the army.
Some analysts say the Chinese navy's biggest visit ever to Hong Kong is aimed at strengthening patriotic spirits in Hong Kong and presenting a show of strength to Taiwan.
Visitors said they felt a sense of pride when they boarded the ships.