PLA Navy ship serves civilians, builds friendly ties

The PLA Navy's hospital ship Peace Ark is a 178-meter-long, 25-meter-wide and 14,000-ton mammoth with red crosses beaming on both its sides. Since 2010, it has sailed around the world and served tens of thousands of people, mostly in East Africa and the Caribbean where free treatment and medicine are more than welcome.

Few navies in the world have such hospital ships. So why does the People's Liberation Army Navy use such a rare asset to serve so many people abroad?

The answer is: It helps build an awesome but pacifist image of the PLA that is closest to that built by General Zheng He 600 years ago. Zheng's seven voyages started in 1405 during the heydays of Chinese military history. His fleet, composed of "treasure boats", was next to none. It is thus only natural for an ever-growing PLA Navy to follow in his footsteps.