The PLA Navy is a history of modern China's naval forces, combined with a technical description of the makeup, equipment and missions of the Navy. The book begins with the founding of the Navy, and relates initial successes in the battle for the Yijiangshan Islands. Further milestones round out the history: In the 1970s, the Navy began to widen their theater of operations away from the Chinese coast. In 1984, Chinese Naval vessels reached Antarctic waters for the first time. In 1989, the Chinese naval training ship Zhenghe sailed across the International Date Line and paid a visit to Hawaii. In 2008, two Chinese naval vessels performed escorts to the Gulf of Aden. All of these events are related, many with photographs. The process of the Navy's conversion from a collection of outdated vessels to a modern and world-class fleet is detailed, starting with the delivery of Soviet-built destroyers in the mid-1950s. Sections on the PLA Navy's organization, equipment, and missions round out the volume, which also includes 106 black and white photographs. The PLA Navy was written by military experts, who were assisted by PLA Navy personnel, staff from China's military academies and research institutions, and by the Office of the Ministry of National Defense. The active participation military personnel makes The PLA Navy the authoritative chronicle of modern China's navy.