Crowds gathered on Tuesday morning on both sides of Victoria Harbour to catch the arrival of two PLA naval ships as part of celebrations for the upcoming National Day.

Training vessel Qi Jiguang and landing ship Yimeng Shan entered the harbour via eastern Lei Yue Mun Channel around 7am and could be seen off Central about 8.45am.

They were guided in by a local marine police vessel and the PLA Hong Kong garrison's guided-missile frigate Suqian and are expected to be docked at the Ngong Shuen Chau Naval Base.

The vessels will then be open to public visits from Wednesday and Thursday between 8am and 4.30pm before leaving on Friday.

All 11,000 tickets for boarding the vessels were snapped up within minutes of their release.

Among the crowds coming to film the vessels was a Guangzhou student, Gao, who arrived at Tsim Sha Tsui from about 5am.

"I got some nice shots, but I didn’t expect the Yimeng Shan to be that massive," he told RTHK.

"My camera just couldn’t keep up, so I probably missed a few great moments.

"Still, no matter how good your gear is, nothing beats seeing it with your own eyes," Gao added, noting that the vessels' deep roar made his visit unforgettable.

A local resident, Cheng, told RTHK he came out to catch the spectacle as it's quite rare for naval ships to sail in Victoria Harbour.

"Usually [PLA ships] will sail near Tsing Yi or Sai Wan," he said.

"It's very rare for them to sail right past in the middle of Victoria Harbour, which is the heart of Hong Kong.

"It enhances the excitement, and everyone was happy.

"The composition of the photos was also very beautiful when we had the Chinese naval warships together with the harbour."

Shenzhen resident Gan said he stayed up all night just to see the ships.

"They felt so close – almost as if I could touch them," he said.

"We don't usually have such opportunities on the mainland, only in Hong Kong can we get these chances."

The Type 680 training vessel Qi Jiguang, hull number 83, is named after a Ming dynasty national hero and was commissioned in February 2017.

It is 163 metres long and 22 metres wide and has a displacement of over 9,000 tonnes, making it the largest as well as the most modern professional training vessel in the country's navy.

The domestically built ship comes equipped with medical cabins and facilities for surgical operations as well as large classrooms and a gymnasium.

The Yimeng Shan, hull number 988, is a Type 071A amphibious assault ship that is named after a mountain in Shandong and was commissioned in February 2016.

The warship is a new type of amphibious dock landing ship that was domestically designed, developed and built.

With a displacement of over 19,000 tonnes, it is characterised by its large tonnage and loading capacity and long range.

It can also carry out rapid and mobile landing operations, medical rescues and other tasks, as well as ferry disaster relief supplies.