She was part of a flotilla which toured ports during the summer of 1889. "Zhiyuan"s sole action was at the Battle of the Yalu River on 17 September 1894 during the First Sino-Japanese War. During the battle, she came under heavy fire from the Japanese forces. Having been holed, Deng ordered for the ship to ram an opposing vessel. She was destroyed as she closed, either by a hit on one of her torpedo tubes, or from a Japanese torpedo. This attack, and the subsequent story of her captain and his dog have become embedded in popular culture in the People's Republic of China. A replica of the "Zhiyuan" was constructed in 2014 at the Port of Dandong, while the wreck was discovered in 2013 after a 16-year search.