China's Peace Ark hospital ship returns home

China's navy hospital ship Peace Ark returned to a navy port on Zhoushan island in east China's Zhejiang Province on Sunday, concluding a humanitarian medical aid mission in typhoon-hit areas in the Philippines. During the mission, the ship treated 2,208 patients, conducted 44 operations, and offered medical treatment and medicine to more than 450 households, according to the authorities of the Peace Ark. The ship also launched surveys on epidemiology among over 7,000 people and delivered 12 reports based on relevant results to the World Health Organization. On Nov. 21, the ship departed for the disaster areas hit by typhoon Haiyan, also known as Yolanda locally, the first time China has sent a naval vessel to overseas disaster-hit areas for a humanitarian medical mission. The mission received positive comment and praise from the Philippine government and people as well as the international community. As the most powerful typhoon in decades, Haiyan wreaked havoc in central Philippine provinces on Nov. 8, leaving nearly 6,000 dead, 27,022 injured and 1,779 missing.