Episode Details

China unveiled its largest and most advanced amphibious assault ship on Friday in Shanghai, naming it after the southwestern province of Sichuan.

12月27日，中国最大、最先进的两栖攻击舰在上海亮相，并以中国西南部省份四川命名。

With a hull code of 51, the CNS Sichuan is the first in the Type 076 class and is being built at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co Ltd, a Shanghai-based subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp, the nation's dominant naval hardware contractor.

该舰舷号51，是中国076型两栖攻击舰首舰，由中国船舶集团有限公司上海子公司沪东中华造船集团建造。中国船舶集团是中国海军装备的主要承包商。

According to the People's Liberation Army Navy, the ship will displace more than 40,000 metric tons of water and will carry fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and amphibious landing craft.

据中国人民解放军海军消息，“四川舰”满载排水量4万余吨，可搭载固定翼飞机、直升机和两栖登陆艇。

It has a two-island superstructure configuration, a design that has never been used on any other Chinese ships and is apparently aimed to better facilitate aviation operations, a full-length flight deck, and an electromagnetic launch system, or electromagnetic catapult, which will be used to launch fixed-wing aircraft, the PLA Navy said in a news release.

中国人民解放军海军在新闻稿中表示，该舰设置了双舰岛式上层建筑以更好地进行航空作业，此设计在中国舰艇中尚属首次。该舰还配备有全纵通飞行甲板和电磁弹射系统（或称电磁弹射器），用于发射固定翼飞机。

After a brief launch ceremony on Friday morning at Hudong-Zhonghua, water began to be pumped into a dry dock in which the ship's hull was built.

12月27日上午，“四川舰”在沪东中华造船厂举行了简短的下水命名仪式。随后四川舰的干船坞开始注水。

Participants in the ceremony—leaders from the Navy and the Sichuan provincial government, executives of China State Shipbuilding Corp, and some of the vessel's designers and construction workers—applauded as they watched the launch process.

海军领导、四川省政府领导、中国船舶集团高管、四川舰部分设计人员及建造工人等参加下水命名仪式。他们观看了四川舰下水过程，并报以热烈掌声。