Long queues of eager residents showed up early on Wednesday morning outside the People’s Liberation Army’s Ngong Shuen Chau naval base on Stonecutters Island for a close-up glimpse of two of the PLA’s warships visiting Hong Kong as part of the National Day celebrations.

They were among thousands of residents who had secured tickets to board the training ship Qi Jiguang and the landing ship Yimengshan during a two-day open day in their three-day stopover in the special administrative region.

The open day follows a special student preview on Tuesday and comes amid National Day celebrations marking the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

Daniel Long, a professor of supply chain risk management at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, was among those lucky to get on board. He said he was impressed by the vessels’ well-equipped interiors which he viewed as the most visible sign of their advanced combat capabilities.

“The sophistication on display today is a far cry from the warships you see in pictures from the 1980s or even the 1990s,” he said.

Having snatched up the much-coveted tickets, Long said it was a crucial opportunity for his son and other young Hong Kong people to witness the nation’s progress and understand the role they can play in its future.

The Qi Jiguang, commissioned in 2017, is a 163-meter-long training vessel with a full displacement of 9,000 metric tons.

The Yimengshan entered service a year earlier. With a displacement of about 19,000 metric tons, it’s a multi-role vessel capable of combat, undertaking disaster relief operations and providing medical assistance.

The nation’s leap in military prowess wasn’t lost on Chiu Yu-pan – a PLA Navy veteran who had once served on a US-made logistics ship. He was thrilled to see the two state-of-the-art, domestically-built warships, noting the rapid progress made since the nation was founded in 1949 when most military equipment was foreign-made.

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“I’m proud to have been born in this great nation,” he said, reflecting on the progress. “We must maintain this momentum and build a world-class navy.”

Visitors were allowed to tour designated sections of the ships, view the equipment displayed, and interact with crew members.

Onboard personnel answered questions and posed for photos with visitors in an atmosphere of warmth and mutual curiosity.

Jing Haifeng, a PLA Naval Submarine Academy student on board, said the opportunity to interact with Hong Kong residents on National Day was a profound honor. He was deeply moved by their enthusiasm and respect for the PLA Navy.

Jing said the most common questions from visitors were about his first impressions of Hong Kong and the challenges of military service. “I thank everyone for their concern,” he said. “I felt we’re all part of the same family.”

He said the occasion has truly brought the PLA Navy and Hong Kong people closer together.

Eighty-three-year-old Fung Yan-kit and his granddaughter lined up to take photos with the sailors in their white uniforms against the backdrop of the Qi Jiguang, whose hull number matched his age.

He said the vessel’s name serves as a solemn tribute to the Ming Dynasty hero who was known for defeating Japanese pirates and standing up to powerful enemies when the nation was weak.

“Although our country has emerged from poverty to become prosperous, we must never forget the heroes who had fought for us when we were weak,” Fung said.

He called the event a vital chance for the city’s youth to understand national security, underscoring that a powerful motherland and its military are what the SAR can rely on in an uncertain world.

The ships arrived in Hong Kong on Tuesday and will remain open to the public through Thursday before departing on Friday morning as part of a far-sea training mission that will also include port calls at Cambodia, Thailand and Singapore.

The open-day event has drawn widespread public interest, with all the 11,000 free tickets issued online over the weekend snapped out within seconds, reflecting the strong patriotic sentiment and curiosity for the nation’s naval development among Hong Kong residents.

Contact the writer at lilei@chinadailyhk.com