A welcoming ceremony is held in honour of "Zhoushan" and "Xuzhou" warships upon their return to their home port in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, December 20, 2009. The domestically-made "Zhoushan" and "Xuzhou" warships returned to their home port in Zhoushan on Sunday after an escort mission against pirates in the Gulf of Aden. According to the commander of the Chinese naval 3rd escort fleet Wang Zhiguo, the flotilla has undertaken 53 batches of escort mission involving 582 vessels since August 1, 2009. [Xinhua]

A welcoming ceremony is held in honour of "Zhoushan" and "Xuzhou" warships upon their return to their home port in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, December 20, 2009. [Xinhua]