Type 679 training ship

Type 679 training ship with NATO reporting name Daxing (大兴, meaning Great Prosper) class is Chinese training ship developed for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The ship is more commonly known as Zheng He, the Chinese Ming dynasty admiral the ship is named after.

Type 679 is the first purpose built training ship indigenously developed by China. Designed by the 708th Institute of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), which is also more commonly known as China Shipbuilding and Oceanic Engineering Design Academy (中国船舶及海洋工程设计研究) nowadays, the ship was built by Qiuxing (求新) Shipyard in Shanghai,a division of Jiangnan Shipyard. The ship is designed to be crewed by 170 sailors, and in addition, 30 instructors are also assigned to the ship. The ship has a large hospital on board to accommodate cadet classes. Originally, the ship can house 170 cadets at any one time in addition to the 170 crew and 30 instructors, and this number has increased to 200 when the number of chart room (originally there was three) was reduced, because the adaptation of electronic charts during later upgrades. When the ship first entered service in 1987, it was the first ship in PLAN that incorporates entertainment rooms (there are two such rooms). More than forty different classes can be trained on board. In April 1989, Type 679 training ship became the first ship in PLAN to visit US when it visited Hawaii. From April 16 thru September 21, 2012, Type 679 training ship completed its first circumnavigation around the globe. The ship has won numerous awards from the city of Shanghai and CSSC for its design and construction. Specification:
 * Length (m): 132.07
 * Beam (m): 15.8
 * Depth (m): 8.1
 * Draft (m): 4.8
 * Displacement (t): 5548
 * Speed (kn): 17
 * Range (nmi): 10,000 @ 17 kn
 * Endurance (day): 30
 * Crew: 170
 * Instructor: 30
 * Cadet: 200
 * Helicopter: 1 Changhe Z-8
 * Armament: 2 twin 57 mm & 2 twin 30 mm guns, 2 Type 81 Mod 1200 rocket launcher (5 tubes)