Chinese cruiser Jingyuan ( 1887 ) Jingyuan ( ) was an armored cruiser in the late Qing Dynasty Beiyang Fleet . Its sister ship was the . Background . As part of his drive to create a modern navy following the Sino - French War , Viceroy Li Hongzhang turned to Vulcan shipyards in Stettin , Germany . " Jingyuan " and " Laiyuan " were called “ gunboat s ” by their designers , but were referred to as “ cruisers ” by the Chinese . In terms of displacement , they were similar in class to the Japanese " Matsushima " class . However , in terms of weaponry , they mounted large calibre guns in the manner of a coastal defense monitor , and lacked the speed or a higher muzzle velocity main battery typical of ships designed per the tenets of the then - popular Jeune Ecole theory promoted by French naval architect Emile Bertin . Design . " Jingyuan " had a steel housing , divided into 66 waterproof compartments filled with cork , two smokestacks , and single mast . Her belt armor had a thickness of 5 . 5 to 9 . 5 inches , but did not extend above the waterline or to the extremities of the hull , and was 8 inches at the conning tower and barbette s . Her deck armor had a thickness of 2 . 5 inches to 3 inches at the extremities . The prow was reinforced for ramming . The power plant was a double expansion reciprocating steam engine with four cylindrical boilers , driving two screws . The ship ’ s main armament was two breech - loading 8 - inch ( 203 mm ) Krupp cannon , paired in the forward barbette . Provision was made for only 50 rounds of ammunition per gun . The secondary armament consisted of two 6 - inch ( 152 mm ) Krupp guns mounted on sponsons on either side of the deck . The ship also had two 47 - mm long guns and five 37 mm Hotchkiss gun s , as well as two torpedo tube s . " Jingyuan " and " Laiyuan " were second in displacement after the Beiyang Fleet battleships and , but were deficient in speed and in firepower , where compared with temporary vessels , such as the British - built Elswick cruiser s . Although its armor belt gave " Jingyuan " an advantage over non - protected vessels , its two - inch lacquered teak deck made it flammable in the event of a battle . Service record . " Jingyuan " was laid down on 1 January 1885 , launched on 25 March 1887 , and completed on 1 January 1888 . On arrival in China in 1880 , " Jingyuan " and " Laiyuan " were both assigned to the Beiyang Fleet . In the summer of 1889 , both vessels were part of the flotilla let by Admiral Ding Ruchang , calling on the Russian naval base of Vladivostok . In early 1894 , both vessels accompanied and on a visit to Singapore , but the flotilla was recalled to Weihaiwei on the eve of the First Sino - Japanese War with the Empire of Japan . " 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 .