Editing Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier (section)

===''Liaoning''===
{{main|Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning}}

[[File:Aircraft Carrier Liaoning CV-16.jpg|thumb|''Liaoning'' in [[Hong Kong]] in 2017]]

The second member of the ''Kuznetsov'' class took a much more roundabout route to active service. Known first as ''Riga'' and then ''Varyag'', she was laid down by the [[Black Sea Shipyard|Nikolayev South Shipyard]] in 1985 and launched in 1988. ''Varyag'' had not yet been commissioned when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, and the ship was left to deteriorate in the elements. In 1998, the unfinished hull was sold by Ukraine to what was apparently a Chinese travel agency for ostensible use as a floating hotel and casino.<ref>{{cite web |title=Giant vessel shuts the Bosphorus |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1632156.stm |website=BBC News |date=1 November 2001 |access-date=24 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224135701/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1632156.stm |archive-date=24 February 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> After an eventful journey under tow, she arrived in China in February 2002 and was berthed at the [[Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company|Dalian naval shipyard]], where she was overhauled and completed as China's first aircraft carrier.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14470882 |title=China's first aircraft carrier 'starts sea trials' |website=BBC News |date=10 August 2011 |access-date=22 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110091110/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14470882 |archive-date=10 January 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="english.peopledaily.com.cn">{{cite news |title=Liaoning Ship's first berthing at home port |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90786/8148672.html |newspaper=[[People's Daily]] |date=1 March 2013 |access-date=22 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013080839/http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90786/8148672.html |archive-date=13 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2012, the ship was commissioned in the [[People's Liberation Army Navy|Chinese navy]] as ''Liaoning''.<ref>{{cite web |website=SpaceWar.com |url=http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Chinas_Liaoning_carrier_enters_service_999.html |title=China's Liaoning carrier enters service |date=27 September 2012 |access-date=22 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222202100/http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Chinas_Liaoning_carrier_enters_service_999.html |archive-date=22 December 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> The ship was named after the [[Liaoning|province]] where the shipyard is located, and its Chinese ship class is '''Type 001'''. Today, she serves as the first aircraft carrier of the [[People's Liberation Army Navy|PLAN]], and its home port is [[Qingdao]].<ref name="english.peopledaily.com.cn"/>