China’s aircraft carrier begins 5-day Hong Kong trip, draws crowds

By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) - China's first indigenously-built aircraft carrier Shandong along with naval vessels docked in Hong Kong for the first time on Thursday.

The group includes missile destroyers Yanan and Zhanjiang, as well as the missile frigate Yuncheng, according to the daily South China Morning Post.

The carrier will be open for visits until Monday.

The visit comes on the anniversary of the UK handing Hong Kong back to China in 1997, as well as the imposition of the controversial national security law in 2020.

Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has said that Shandong's arrival in the city allows the residents of Hong Kong to "experience the grandeur and advancement of the nation's modernization firsthand and know more about the results of the modernization of the nation's defense," according to Radio Television Hong Kong.

Lee added that people can take a look at the navy and boost their "sense of national pride."

This marks the second time a Chinese aircraft carrier has visited Hong Kong, after Liaoning visited in July 2017.

The aircraft carrier is on a five-day visit to Hong Kong starting on Thursday.