Naval Base Shanghai (Amphibious base) (Shanghai)

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The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN or PLA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the People's Liberation Army, the national armed forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLAN can trace its lineage to naval units fighting during the Chinese Civil War and was established during the September, 1950. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s the Soviet Union provided assistance to the PLAN in the form of naval advisers and export of equipment and technology.Until the late 1980s, the PLAN was largely a riverine and littoral force (brown-water navy). However by the 1990s, following the fall of the Soviet Union and a shift towards more out-looking attitudes, leaders were freed from worrying over land border disputes, and instead turned its attention towards the seas. This led to the development of the People's Liberation Army Navy into the green-water navy it is today.[3] Before the 1990s the PLAN had traditionally played a subordinate role to the People's Liberation Army Ground Force.
In 2008, General Qian Lihua confirmed that China plans to operate a small fleet of aircraft carriers in the near future, but for the purpose of regional defence as opposed to "global reach". As of 2013 PLA officials have also outlined plans to operate in the first and second island chains. Chinese strategists term the development of the PLAN from a green-water navy into "a regional blue-water defensive and offensive navy."

Part of East Sea Fleet command.

The PLAN is organized into several departments for purposes of command, control and coordination. Main operating forces are organized into fleets, each with its own headquarters, a commander (a Rear Admiral or Vice Admiral) and a Political Commisar. All PLAN headquarters are subordinate to the PLA General Staff Department and the Chairman of the Central Military Committee.