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The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 037 sub-hunter patrol craft, also known by its NATO designation of Hainan class, is a reliable craft capable of performing many roles and is well-liked by its crews . Today there are more than 100 examples of Type 037 still in service with the PLAN and other navies. While it was designed and built as a sub-hunter, the Type 037 was mainly used for ocean patrol duties. The Type 037class is known for its 1974 victory over the South Vietnamese Navy in the South China Sea and its export success.

The development of Type 037 program was a direct result of both China’s increased shipbuilding capacity and the unsatisfactory performance of the Soviet Kronstadt class (PLAN designation Type 6602) large patrol craft during operational trials and combat. China imported the first six of 20 300-ton Kronstadt class boats from the Soviet Union in 1956, built two from Russian kits, and the last 12 were built by Shanghai and Guangzhou Shipyards in 1957. The PLAN needed a rapid build-up rate to support continuous littoral warfare with the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) in the Taiwan Strait during the 1950s and much of the 1960s. The imported Kronstadt failed to meet PLAN requirements in the areas of speed, firepower, wind resistance, seaworthiness, reliability, and range to merit additional development or production runs. As a result a new 300-ton class sub-hunter patrol craft requirement was developed.

In 1959, the PLAN organized its efforts to replace the Kronstadt with a similar tonnage craft. All works were assigned to the 701 Institute of the Fleet Academy under the direct control of the Navy. Previously, individual shipyards did all design work for distinct classes of naval ships. The project chief was Xu Zhenqi, an adviser of the 701 Institute and considered a legend of the PLAN. He graduated from Kuomintang Navy Fujian Mawei Aviation and Submarine School and was in charge of monitoring the quality of Chinese warships brought from abroad. In 1952, he was appointed head of the design office of the Navy Ship and Repair Construction Department and later appointed Senior Designer. In additional to designing the Type 037, he was in charge of the Type 062 development program. Until his death in 1982, all major PLA surface warships bear his design inputs.

In August 1973, a Type 037 of the North Sea Fleet braved Force-9 wind to rescue North Korean sailors who had fallen overboard from a fishing vessel. The craft returned to port after 10 hours in the storm and was hailed by the Chinese press as a testament of Type 037’s seaworthy design and gave Xu Zhenqi much media coverage.