Precursors In the 1860s, an attempt was made to establish a modern navy via the British-built
Osborn or "Vampire" Fleet to combat the
Taiping rebels' US-built gunboats. The so-called "Vampire Fleet", fitted out by the Chinese government for the suppression of
piracy on the coast of China, was scrapped owing to the non-fulfilment of the condition that British commander Sherard Osborn should receive orders from the imperial government only.
Establishment of the Qing navy 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 battleships 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 was 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. There were also plans to re-develop the fleet, with a budget of 7-8 million taels per year, including a small amount of loan from the United States of America. In 1911,
Sa Zhenbing became the Minister of Navy of the Great Qing. of the Imperial Chinese Navy, on parade in
New York City, 1911. 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.
Successors After the
1911 Revolution and the establishment of the
Republic of China in 1912, the Imperial Chinese Navy was replaced by the
Republic of China Navy. The
People's Liberation Army Navy was established in early 1949 by the
Chinese Communist Party, and after the establishment of the
People's Republic of China later that year, became the main navy of China. ==Fleets==