Rather than reproducing every stage of the Soviet carrier programme, China used the former Varyag as a practical starting point, then built Shandong as a domestic equivalent. Fujian represents the next step, incorporating experience from the first two carriers while supporting a more ambitious future fleet. Other acquired carrier hulks also offered study material even when their public afterlives were hotels or attractions rather than commissioned warships. The sequence shows how a navy can accumulate operational, industrial, and aviation knowledge through successive ships.
Notable Point · 1:01:48-1:02:42
China's deliberate carrier-development sequence
China moved from an acquired carrier hull to an indigenous derivative and then a next-generation design built on lessons from both.