China's first Type 055 guided-missile destroyer Nanchang, which was first displayed to the public during the 70th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, was commissioned on Sunday at a naval base in the port city of Qingdao, eastern China's Shandong Province.

The warship is viewed by many as a symbol of Chinese Navy's development, signaling that China's destroyers have evolved to the fourth generation.

Fully designed by Chinese engineers, the 10,000-ton class warship is equipped with anti-air, anti-missile, anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons. 

It was built in 2017 and first demonstrated in April 2019.

The old Nanchang destroyer

It's not the first time for the PLA Navy to name a warship after the city of Nanchang. The old Nanchang was a Type 051D missile destroyer built in 1977 and commissioned in 1982. The ship was retired in September 2016 and then used by the city of Nanchang as a museum.

In its 34 years of service, the old Nanchang sailed for more than 170,000 nautical miles and participated in more than 80 missions including patrol, training and drill.

The hull number of the new Nanchang destroyer, 101, was also used before. The old 101 ship was named Anshan, which is PLA's first destroyer. Bought from Soviet Union back in the 1950s, the Anshan served for as long as 38 years and was eventually rested in Qingdao Navy Museum.