BEIJING, June 23 -- Nearly 20,000 artillerymen from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday commenced a 100-day military exercise code named "Firepower 2014."

According to military sources, six artillery brigades from the Shenyang, Beijing, Jinan, Nanjing and Guangzhou military area commands and the Nanjing Institute of Artillery Corps will participate in the drills that will involve almost 1,000 pieces of major weaponry.

The first stage of the exercise will be conducted at the Nanjing Institute of Artillery Corps and focus on command of the troops. The second stage will focus on tactical maneuvers and be conducted in unfamiliar terrains in northeast, north and northwest China.

The destruction capacity of artillery is vital to winning modern battles and confrontation maneuvers of this kind improve fighting capacity, said president of the institute Yu Chao, in charge of the exercise.