Ding Ruchang
In the 1880s, the Beiyang Fleet was occupied with an annual routine of winter training cruises to the South China Sea, often in company with the Nanyang Fleet. This cruise typically involved visits to Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong provinces, and sometimes went as far south as stops in Southeast Asia. The rest of the year was spent in northern waters off Zhili, Shandong, and Fengtian provinces, conducting training exercises. Training cruises to foreign ports were conducted in the mid-1880s and early 1890s, both to train navigational skills on voyages far from shore and to show the flag. Discipline aboard the ships of the Beiyang Fleet was poor, which contributed to a low state of readiness of the ships. During this period, the fleet was commanded by Admiral Ding Ruchang, while "Zhenyuan" was captained by Lin Taizeng, who was promoted to the rank of rear admiral shortly after taking command in 1885. Lin served as Ding's deputy through 1894. At the time, China lacked dry docks large enough to handle "Zhenyuan" and "Dingyuan", forcing the navy to rely on shipyards in Japan or in British Hong Kong for periodic maintenance.