A glimpse of Chinese navy hospital ship’s mission in Philippines

After concluding a humanitarian medical aid mission in the typhoon-ravaged regions in the Philippines, China's navy hospital ship Peace Ark returned to a navy port on Zhoushan Island in eastern China's Zhejiang province on Sunday.

The hospital ship treated more than 2,200 patients, conducted 44 operations, and offered medical treatment and medicine to more than 450 households during the mission. It also surveyed on epidemiology among over 7,000 people and then submitted 12 reports to the World Health Organization.

The ship departed for the disaster areas hit by typhoon Haiyan, also known as Yolanda locally, on Nov. 21, 2013. It is the first time that China has sent a naval vessel to overseas disaster-hit areas for a humanitarian medical mission.