Viceroy of Zhili
At the time that "Zhiyuan" was ordered in October 1885, there was a debate in naval circles over the differences between armored cruisers and protected cruisers. Viceroy of Zhili province, Li Hongzhang, was in Europe to order ships from builders in Western nations. He was unable to decide between the two types, so in an experiment, he placed orders for two vessels of each type. The order for the two protected cruisers was given to Armstrong Whitworth in Elswick, England, known as the leading builder of this type of vessels during this period.