A naval parade of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy warships is held in waters off Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, on April 23, 2009. The parade displayed 25 naval vessels and 31 aircraft of the PLA Navy, including two nuclear submarines, as part of a celebration to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the PLA Navy.

China's grand naval display, held Thursday in waters off Qingdao, has been quite a hit among Chinese people online and offline, due to its unprecedented scale and the modern warships that are usually kept mysterious from the public.

Special Report: China Marks 60th Anniversary of Navy >>

The display, joined by 25 vessels and 31 naval aircraft of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy and 21 vessels from 14 foreign countries, included the debut of China's nuclear submarines.

Thanks to the wide media coverage days before the event, which was to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of PLA Navy, people nationwide showed zeal in watching the ceremony and, for people in Qingdao, even boarding the foreign ships.

Apart from being simply patriotic about the country's growing naval might, people have also developed opinions about the vessels and aircraft displayed and even the global military landscape.

A netizen named "Tan Yang" wrote on a popular military fan Web site, xinjunshi.com, "People born half a century ago may have all watched films like 'The Story of a Boatswain' and 'The Sea Hawk'. We've come all the way from small ships to nuclear submarines and missile destroyers."

Naval warships are seen during a naval parade of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy warships and aircraft in waters off China's port city of Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, on April 23, 2009.

Another netizen named "Hua Zhong Dong" wrote on sdnews.com, a news portal of Shandong Province where Qingdao is located, "Our navy must build strong deterrence and combating skills to safeguard our interests and safety in the ocean."

Though official voices have been quiet in the past days about China's attempts to build an aircraft carrier, the subject has been heatedly discussed on the Internet.

In a military fans' blog on sina.com, readers were almost unanimous on the argument that China should build at least one aircraft carrier, for the sake of sovereignty safety and military dignity. But they were divided in whether they would donate money to it.

Some wrote that they were willing to donate, maybe one month's salary, if the government decides to build an aircraft carrier. Some wrote they would donate money only if it is strictly audited. Still some others wrote that China should only build an aircraft carrier if there's enough government budget to spend.

A naval parade of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy warships and aircraft is held in waters off China's port city of Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, on April 23, 2009.

On a popular news portal 163.com, netizens posted photos of their envisioned future carrier. They went so far as to name the potential carrier. Their favorite names are Mao Zedong, the late Chinese Communist leader who helped found the people's republic, the Great Wall, and the Diaoyu Island, where China and Japan occasionally hold territorial disputes.

Off the Internet, the grand display also drew wide attention from military fans, either out of pure love or commercial motives.

Out in the parks of Fuzhou, capital of southeastern Fujian Province which faces Taiwan across a narrow strait, 25-year-old Zhu Wulin was pleased to see that his handmade warship models had been selling well these days.

"I've sold more than 40 models since February," said Zhu, a proud military fan himself.

A nuclear-powered submarine of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy is seen during a naval parade of the PLA Navy warships and aircraft in waters off Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, on April 23, 2009.

Zhu makes a living by selling warship models he makes based on the pictures of real PLA Navy warships. Each model, priced at around 200 yuan (30 U.S. dollars), is made of aluminum.

Different from Zhu, 39-year-old Xu Yusheng was just disappointed that the naval display was not broadcast live.

"I really hoped to watch it live, but later news snatches made it up to me," Xu told Xinhua over phone. Xu works for a private company in suburban Shanghai.

Although public enthusiasm was high, the grand display was, according to officials, targeted more at foreign defense analysts as a gesture to show that China's naval forces are willing to work more with their counterparts and to ease fears of China becoming a "threat" to world.

Special Report: China Marks 60th Anniversary of Navy >>