Maizuru Naval District
From November 1936, "Tenryū" was paired with her sister ship "Tatsuta" in the 10th Cruiser Squadron of the IJN 3rd Fleet, replacing the cruiser . As the situation between Japan and China deteriorated into the Second Sino-Japanese War, "Tenryū" supported the landings of the Imperial Japanese Army and Japanese naval forces in Shanghai, and the blockade of the Chinese coast. As a component of the IJN 5th Fleet, on 10 May 1938 she covered the landing of Japanese forces at Amoy and on 1 July 1938 supported operations in Guangzhou. "Tatsuta" and "Tenryū" operated in Chinese waters until 14 December 1938, when they were withdrawn from front line service and assigned to the reserves. From 1 December 1939, "Tenryū" was based at Maizuru Naval District as a guard ship and training vessel for the Imperial Japanese Navy Engineering Academy.