page_title: Imperial Chinese Navy
section_title: Establishment of the Qing navy
hierarchical_section_title: Imperial Chinese Navy / History / Establishment of the Qing navy
caption_attribution_description: 中文: 大清海圻號巡洋艦訪問紐約期間，上岸遊行的海軍水兵，當時全都剪去辮子English: Sailors from the Imperial Qing Navy Cruiser Hai Chi on parade in New York in 1911; all the sailors had cut off their queues
context_page_description: The Imperial Chinese Navy was the modern navy of the Qing Empire established in 1875. An Imperial naval force in China first came into existence from 1132 during the Song Dynasty and existed in some form until the end of the Qing period in 1912. However, the "Imperial Chinese Navy" usually only refers to the Qing navy which existed between 1875 and 1912.
context_section_description: In 1865, the Jiangnan Shipyard was established.
  In 1874, a Japanese incursion into Taiwan exposed the vulnerability of China at sea. A proposal was made to establish three modern coastal fleets: the Northern Sea or Beiyang Fleet, to defend the Yellow Sea, the Southern Sea or Nanyang Fleet, to defend the East China Sea, and the Canton Sea or Yueyang Fleet, to defend the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. The Beiyang Fleet, with a remit to defend the section of coastline closest to the capital Beijing, was prioritised.
  A series of warships were ordered from Britain and Germany in the late 1870s, and naval bases were built at Port Arthur and Weihaiwei. The first British-built ships were delivered in 1881, and the Beiyang Fleet was formally established in 1888. In 1894 the Beiyang Fleet was on paper the strongest navy in Asia at the time. However, it was largely lost during the First Sino-Japanese War in the Battle of the Yalu River. Although the Zhenyuan and Dingyuan modern batttleships were impervious to Japanese fire, they were unable to sink a single ship and all eight cruisers were lost.The battle displayed once again that the modernisation efforts of China were far inferior to the Meiji Restoration. The Nanyang Fleet was also established in 1875, and grew with mostly domestically built warships and a small number of acquisitions from Britain and Germany.
  The admiralty or naval board (haijun yamen) was established in 1885.
  The Nanyang Fleet fought in the Sino-French War, performing somewhat poorly against the French in all engagements.
  The separate Fujian and Guangdong fleets became part of the Imperial navy after 1875. The Fujian Fleet was almost annihilated during the Sino-French War, and was only able to acquire two new ships thereafter. By 1891, due to budget cuts, the Fujian Fleet was barely a viable fleet. The Guangdong Fleet was established in the late 1860s and based at Whampoa, in Canton (now Guangzhou).
  After the First Sino-Japanese War, Zhang Zhidong established a river-based fleet in Hubei.
  In 1909, the remnants of the Beiyang, Nanyang, Guangdong and Fujian Fleets, together with the Hubei fleet, were merged, and re-organised as the Sea Fleet and the River Fleet.
  In 1911, Sa Zhenbing became the Minister of Navy of the Great Qing.
  One of the new ships delivered after the war with Japan, the cruiser Hai Chi, in 1911 became the first vessel flying the Yellow Dragon Flag to arrive in American waters, visiting New York City as part of a tour.
caption: Sailors from the Hai Chi of the Imperial Chinese Navy, on parade in New York.
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