"Jingyuan" and "Laiyuan" were both in the Battle of the Yalu River on 17 September 1894. Early in the battle, the captain of "Laiyuan" moved aggressively against the Japanese squadron, pursuing and severely damaging the slower moving Japanese gunboat , but receiving considerable damage in return, which set her on fire and removed her from the combat. With "Laiyuan" apparently doomed, the Japanese flying squadron led by Admiral Tsuboi Kozo (, , , and ), concentrated fire on "Jingyuan" for over an hour. Briefly, "Jingyuan" appeared to be closing on "Yoshino" in an apparent attempt to ram, but at 16:48, lurched to the starboard and burst into flames. Soon after, with a large explosion, "Jingyuan" rolled over and sank. Of the 270 crewmen, only seven escaped.