By Emily Hung,Harvey Kong,Jiang Chuqin,Matthew Cheng

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Onlookers have gathered on both sides of Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour to welcome two People’s Liberation Army (PLA) naval vessels that sailed into the city’s waters for a four-day port call as part of National Day celebrations.
Training vessel Qi Jiguang and amphibious landing ship Yimeng Shan arrived at around 7am on Tuesday via Tathong Channel in the eastern seawater area, guided by local marine police vessels and the PLA Hong Kong garrison’s guided-missile frigate Suqian, hull number 666.
The fleet then sailed past the Lei Yue Mun Channel and Victoria Harbour, reaching the waters off Central at around 8.45am, before heading to Ngong Shuen Chau Naval Base.
Both warships bore patriotic slogans such as “loving people, protecting Hong Kong, fulfilling original aspirations” and “shouldering the mission, striving to be powerful on the sea”.
Dozens of navy personnel in white uniforms were seen standing in line on the deck as the warships entered the city.

At 9am, the Government Flying Service also conducted a formation fly-past above the harbour, carrying national and city flags, as part of the National Day celebration activities.
Victor Wu, a 30-year-old military hardware enthusiast from Zhuhai, was among dozens of people waiting to catch a glimpse of the two PLA ships at Tsim Sha Tsui’s waterfront.
“I am quite emotional and I am quite happy,” he said. “My interest is in military equipment, so seeing these things makes me very happy.”
Wu, who had been waiting at the waterfront since 7.30 am, said he woke up at 4am to travel to the city to see the vessels.
He said he hoped to see the training vessel Qi Jiguang, as he had never seen it before.
Ferry routes serving the outlying islands and Victoria Harbour were suspended or adjusted in the morning, while bus services were ramped up to help affected passengers.
Qi Jiguang and Yimeng Shan will be open to the public at the Ngong Shuen Chau Naval Base on Wednesday and Thursday as part of the October 1 National Day celebrations. They will leave the city on Friday.
The 11,000 tickets up for grabs to board the vessels were all booked within minutes of their release. Ticket holders can visit the vessels from 8am to 4.30pm on Wednesday and Thursday.
The visit by Qi Jiguang and Yimeng Shan comes just three months after the Shandong aircraft carrier strike group stopped in the city in July.

Qi Jiguang, hull number 83, is named after a Ming dynasty national hero and was officially commissioned in February 2017. The Type 680 training vessel is equipped with computer-aided training facilities, including a ship-handling simulator, large classrooms and a gymnasium.
Yimeng Shan, hull number 988, is a Type 071A amphibious assault ship. Commissioned in February 2016, the ship possesses vertical landing capabilities, can transport nearly 50 armoured vehicles, and carries four landing craft.
The naval visit comes just three months after a much-watched port call by China’s first independently designed aircraft carrier, the Shandong, in July, which drew thousands of people to the waterfront and hilltops to welcome the vessel and three other warships to the city.
Lau Siu-kai, a consultant for the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank, said that frequent visits by the PLA Navy were intended to flex its military muscle and serve as a deterrent amid geopolitical tensions.
He added the visit could serve as a form of patriotic education to help shape Hongkongers’ identity and develop their sense of national pride.