By Zhou Jing

Delegations from 29 of the world's navies gathered in Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province Monday to attend celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).

Dozens of Chinese warships and aircraft and 21 naval vessels from 14 countries will participate in a fleet review on Thursday. Ding Yiping, deputy commander of the PLAN said the fleet review will feature a wide range of vessels, from warships with a displacement more than 10,000 tonnes to small auxiliary vessels.

The sailing order of foreign vessels taking part in the fleet review will be arranged according to international practice, he said; warships will precede auxiliary vessels and larger ships will precede smaller ships. Ships of the same type and tonnage will be arranged in alphabetical order of their home country.

China will display its nuclear-powered submarines for the first time during the fleet parade, he said.

All Chinese naval vessels and weapons displayed during the fleet review are manufactured domestically, he said, adding that most of the participating naval vessels will be from the Beihai Fleet, with some from the Donghai and Nanhai Fleets.

• Brief introduction to the foreign vessels:

US navy missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald [Chinanews.com]

1. US navy missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald

The US navy's USS Fitzgerald is an Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer.

Type: Guided-missile destroyer

Length: 153.8 meters

Beam: 20.4 meters

Displacement: 8,900 tons full load

Speed: 32 knots