After the conclusion of World War I, "Wolsey" served in the Atlantic Fleet. In the late 1920s, she operated on the China Station. After the British river steamer SS "Kutwo" collided with and sank a Chinese troop-carrying launch on the Yangtze River and Chinese authorities threatened to seize her at Nanking in early March 1927, "Wolsey" arrived on the scene and came alongside "Kutwo" to repel by force any Chinese attempt to board her, and "Wolsey"s sailors also boarded a British hulk nearby and forced off Chinese students who had boarded it to stage a demonstration; the light cruiser soon joined "Wolsey" at Nanking as a reinforcement. During the Nanking Incident, "Wolsey" steamed at full speed from Wuhu to Nanking on 24 March 1927 to reinforce "Emerald" and the United States Navy destroyers and and patrol yacht as they confronted Chinese troops threatening foreigners ashore; she arrived as the other ships opened fire on Chinese positions and, without a target designation for her larger guns, used her machine guns against Chinese snipers which had harassed the other ships and their boats all day. She remained at Nanking, prepared for further action, until all foreign refugees were safely aboard the ships on the evening of 25 March 1927.