A DigitalGlobe image of Jiangnan Group's Changxing Island shipbuilding facility shows what appears to be a section of an engineering sample of a future Chinese aircraft carrier. (Source: huanqiu.com)

Sections of a ship at Jiangnan Group's Changxing Island shipbuilding facility near Shanghai may be parts of China's first indigenously built aircraft carrier.

Images of the blocks recently began appearing on Chinese military forums and websites and have been corroborated by DigitalGlobe satellite imagery of the Changxing Island site dated 3 March 2013.

The structure of the block does not resemble any of the commercial vessels currently under construction in the surrounding docks.

It is understood that the block is an engineering sample, all sorts of shipyards will make these samples before building new ships.

China commissioned its first aircraft carrier, Liaoning , in 2012 after refitting the former Soviet Kuznetsov-class vessel in Dalian.

(Source: huanqiu.com)

(Source: huanqiu.com)

(Source: huanqiu.com)

(Source: huanqiu.com)

(Source: huanqiu.com)

(Source: huanqiu.com)

(Source: huanqiu.com)

(Source: huanqiu.com)