Naval Vessels Naming Regulation

The Naval Vessels Naming Regulation (Chinese: 海军舰艇命名条例; pinyin: Hǎijūn Jiàntǐng Mìngmíng Tíaolì) is a regulation that governs the naming of vessels of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy. It was published by the PLAN on November 18, 1978, and was revised on July 10, 1986.[1]

Nomenclature

The regulation states that surface combatants above cruiser class (i.e. battleships and aircraft carriers) shall be named by the State Council on a case-by-case basis while others are named after geographical locations:[1][2]

Ship[2]	Named after[2]
Cruisers and aircraft carriers	Chinese provinces
Destroyers	Major Chinese cities
Frigates	Minor Chinese cities
Nuclear submarines	Changzheng (Chinese: 长征; pinyin: Chángzhēng; lit.: 'Long March') followed by a serial number[1]
Ballistic and cruise missile armed conventional submarines	Yuanzheng (Chinese: 远征; pinyin: Yuǎnzhēng; lit.: 'Expedition') followed by a serial number[1]
Conventional submarines	Changcheng (Chinese: 长城; pinyin: Chángchēng; lit.: 'Great Wall') followed by a serial number[1]
Mine warfare ship	Chinese prefectures
Submarine chasers and corvettes	Chinese counties
Dock & tank landing ships	Chinese mountains
Other landing ships	Chinese rivers
Replenishment ships	Chinese lakes
Research ships	Chinese scientists
Training ships	Chinese naval officers

Ship Prefixes

Neither the Chinese Government nor PLAN use ship prefixes internally. However, a system of ship prefixes similar to that of the West has been developed by many internet sources for similar classification:

Country	Service	Prefix	Meaning
People's Republic of China	People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)	PLANS	People's Liberation Army Navy Ship: Commissioned ships in PLAN, mostly warships & some auxiliaries.
		PRCNS	People's Republic of China Naval Ship: PLAN owned ships manned by civilians, including most research ships.
	China Coast Guard (PRCCG)	PRCCGS	People's Republic of China Coast Guard Ship.
	Governmental Agencies	PRCS	People's Republic of China Ship: ships owned by various Chinese governmental administrative and regulatory bodies, all of which are subject to naval deployment.
	Merchant Marine	PRCMV	People's Republic of China Merchant Vessel.

References

1. Liu, Wenhui; Liu, Sicong (11 August 2011). "中国海军舰艇命名由来及规律" [Origins and Patterns of the naming of Chinese Naval Vessels]. People's Daily. Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 2016-08-13. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
2. "Nomenclature of Chinese warships". Archived from the original on July 10, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2016.

See also

• List of active People's Liberation Army Navy ships