Renovation of the famous Zhongshan Warship officially began on November 12 at the Hubei Shipyard in Wuhan Hubei Province to mark the 133rd anniversary of the birth of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the great forerunner of the Chinese Democratic Revolution.

The renovation project, approved by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage in July this year, is estimated to cost about 12 million yuan (1.44 million U.S. dollars) and is expected to be completed in 12 months.

The Zhongshan Warship was named after Sun Yat-sen whose name in Mandarin Chinese is Sun Zhongshan.

On October 24,1938, the ship was attacked by Japanese bombs and sunk in the Yangtze River in Wuhan during China's War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-1945).

It was raised out water on January 28, 1997 and was immediately sent to Hubei Shipyard for preservation.

Li Jianqiu, chief of the renovation team, told Xinhua that the renovation project will follow two principles: to ensure the warship's framework remains unchanged, and to restore its original look.

The Hubei Shipyard has also pledged to make all efforts to renew the warship's original appearance by observing every details of the ship and taking photos of every detail, even every nail.