(ZHA CHUNMING)

Sailors and medical staff aboard the Chinese Navy hospital ship, Peace Ark, hold an oath-taking ceremony on September 6.

The ship started its medical mission from the Zhoushan Port in east China's Zhejiang Province on August 31. In 87 days, it will sail 15,000 nautical miles to provide medical services for Chinese soldiers on an anti-piracy escort mission in the Gulf of Aden and visit five African and Asian countries—Djibouti, Kenya, Tanzania, the Seychelles and Bangladesh.

Peace Ark, which was built in China, is the first hospital ship in the world with a 10,000-ton water displacement capacity.