ZHANJIANG, July 10 -- Two first-generation homemade ocean-going tank landing ships, namely the Yuntaishan and Zijinshan, were officially decommissioned from the PLA Navy on July 7.

A combat support ship flotilla attached to the navy under the PLA Southern Theater Command held a grand decommissioning ceremony at a military port in Zhanjiang City of China’s Guangdong Province.

The navy ensigns were dropped from the two landing ships in the background of resounding military song. With the equipment advancement of PLA Navy, the first-generation homemade vessels have been retreating from public view gradually.

The landing ship Yuntaishan (Hull 927) was commissioned in 1979 and has served for 41 years, being reputed as the “No.1 landing ship in China”, while the landing ship Zijinshan (Hull 929) was commissioned in 1982 and has served 38 years, being known as the “fluttering flag on the South China Sea”.

Both ships were the first-generation ocean-going tank landing ships independently designed and built by China in the 1970s. They were manufactured by the Shanghai-based Zhonghua Shipyard with the capability of beaching, landing and cargo carrying.

Serving in the East China Sea for a long time, the landing ships Yuntaishan and Zijinshan have superbly performed a variety of urgent, dangerous and difficult tasks, including combat readiness patrol, safeguarding maritime rights and construction in the South China Sea.

In recent years, they have been transferred to the South China Sea due to the needs of naval defense development, where they have witnessed the construction and development of the region.