Type 679 training ship

The Type 679 training ship (NATO reporting name Daxin (大兴, meaning Great Prosper)) is a Chinese training ship developed for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The ship is more commonly known as Zheng He (Chinese: 郑和), after the Ming dynasty admiral of the same name.

PLANS AX-81 Zheng He

Type 679 training ship Zheng He[1]
History
China
Name:	PLANS AX-81 Zheng He (郑和)
Namesake:	Zheng He
Builder:	Qiuxing (求新) Shipyard, Shanghai
Laid down:	6 Jul 1985
Launched:	12 Jul 1986
Commissioned:	30 Dec 1986
In service:	1987-Present
Homeport:	Dalian, Liaoning
Nickname(s):	NATO reporting name Daxin (大兴)
Status:	Active
General characteristics
Type:	Training ship
Displacement:	5548 t
Length:	132.07 m (433.3 ft)
Beam:	15.8 m (52 ft)
Draft:	4.8 m (16 ft)
Propulsion:	2 SEMT-Pielstick diesels, 2 shafts, 7,200 bhp
Speed:	17 kts (reported)
Range:	10,000nm @ 17 kn
Complement:	Crew: 170 Instructors: 30 Cadets: 200
Armament:	2 twin 57 mm 2 twin 30 mm guns 2 Type 81 Mod 1200 rocket launcher (5 tubes)
Aircraft carried:	1 Changhe Z-8

Zheng He is the first purpose built training ship indigenously developed by China. Designed by the 708th Institute of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), commonly known as China Shipbuilding and Oceanic Engineering Design Academy (中国船舶及海洋工程设计研究), 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 30 instructors assigned to the ship. The ship has a large hospital on board to accommodate cadet classes. She was originally designed to house 170 cadets in addition to the crew and instructors. The number of embarked cadets was increased to 200 when one of the three chart rooms was removed due to the adoption of electronic charts during an upgrade. When the ship first entered service in 1987, she was the first ship in the PLAN to incorporate entertainment rooms (there are two such rooms). More than forty different classes can be trained on board.[2]

In April 1989, Zheng He became the first ship in the PLAN to visit the United States when she visited Hawaii. Between April 16 and September 21, 2012, Zheng He conducted her first circumnavigation of the globe, crossing three oceans, visiting 11 countries, and covering more than 30,000 nautical miles over the course of a 159-day voyage.[3][4]

The Zheng He has won numerous awards from the city of Shanghai and CSSC for its design and construction.

• 
  Zheng He at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
• 
  Zheng He during a visit to India in May 2014.