As the naval training ship entered the Kochi port after sailing past the huge Chinese cantilevered fishing nets, which are still used by local fishermen, the Naval personnel on board waved and cheered.
The flags of both the countries were hung on the vessel.
Chinese Ambassador to India Zhag Yan, Defence Attache, Cai Ping, were among those who received the vessel which is here as part of its round the world voyage to celebrate the 63rd anniversary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
The Ambassador and the Defence Attache later met Rear Admiral S Y Srikhande who is officiating as the Flag Officer Commanding in Chief of the Southern Naval command in the absence of Vice Admiral K N Sushil, naval sources here said.
Chinese naval personnel on board the vessel would visit various installations of the Indian Navy during their visit, the sources said.
The vessel had also taken on board Indian Naval Sea Cadet David Veeravalli in Malaysia as a goodwill gesture and he will be disembarking at Kochi.
The commander of the warship, Liao Shining, Deputy Chief of Staff of the PLA navy, said promoting the ideal of "a harmonious world and a harmonious ocean" and strengthening the friendship and cooperation between the two countries and the two navies was the main purpose of the visit.
The warship is named after the well known Chinese navigator Zhenghe who is said to have arrived at Kochi six times over 600 years ago. Besides India, the vessel is scheduled to visit ports in 11 countries.
India is the third leg of the ship's global goodwill voyage, with more than 300 sailors, including 110 students from Dalian Naval Academy on board, the sources said.
This is also the vessel's second visit to India and the fifth visit of a Chinese navy warship to India.
While some believe the Chinese fishing nets were introduced by Portuguese, some other accounts say Chinese explorer Zhenghe and merchants from the court of Kubla Khan brought it to Kochi.
