Hong Kong’s John Lee inspects guard of honour on Chinese warship Shandong
Warship’s visit marks first time one of country’s fully domestically built carriers has made a call at Hong Kong
The Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong and its accompanying strike group entered Hong Kong waters on Thursday morning as part of a five-day trip, marking the first time one of the country’s fully domestically built carriers has visited the city.
The 70,000-tonne warship is being escorted by missile destroyers Yanan and Zhanjiang, and the missile frigate Yuncheng, with the carrier to host a series of open tours and cultural exchange activities in the city until Monday next week.
The Shandong, spotted near Lamma Island at 7.17am, is the first Chinese carrier to call at Hong Kong since the Liaoning visited in July 2017 to mark the 20th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty.
The Post tracks the much-awaited arrival of the Shandong and its fleet.
Reporting by Enoch Wong, Denise Tsang, Joshua Kwok, Vivian Au, Leopold Chen, Lorraine Chiang, Wynna Wong and Jess Ma.