Chinese navy's hospital ship Peace Ark arrived at the port of Colombo on Sunday for a four-day stopover there.

The ship slowly sailed into the port at around 10:00 a.m.(0430 GMT) in its first visit to Sri Lanka, with some 300 people, including officials of both countries and representatives of various Chinese communities there, welcoming its arrival.

The hospital ship will be open to the public during the stopover and provide medical service for local residents, said Major General Guan Bolin, commander of the task.

This is the sixth time for the hospital ship Peace Ark to carry out "Harmonious Mission" and Sri Lanka is the first stop for its 2017 mission.

It is expected to visit Djibouti Port, Freetown Port in Sierra Leone, Owendo Port in Gabon, Pointe Noire Port in Congo and some other ports.