The Chih Yuen 致遠 was a protected cruiser

Protected cruiser

The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...

 in service with the Chinese

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 Beiyang Fleet

Beiyang Fleet

The Beiyang Fleet was one of the four modernised Chinese navies in the late Qing Dynasty. Among the four, the Beiyang Fleet was particularly sponsored by Li Hongzhang, one of the most trusted vassals of Empress Dowager Cixi and the principal patron of the "self-strengthening movement" in northern...

. Chih Yuen was the sister ship to Ching Yuen

Ching Yuen

The Ching Yuen was a protected cruiser in service with the Chinese Beiyang Fleet. Ching Yuen was the sister ship to Chih Yuen, both of which were designed and constructed in Elswick, in the United Kingdom by Armstrong Whitworth....

, both of which were designed and constructed in Elswick

Elswick, Tyne and Wear

Elswick is a ward of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, in the western part of the city, bordering the river Tyne. One of the earliest references to the coal mining industry of the north east occurs in 1330, when it was recorded that the Prior of Tynemouth let a colliery, called Heygrove, at...

, in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 by Armstrong Whitworth

Armstrong Whitworth

Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. Headquartered in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth engaged in the construction of armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles, and aircraft.-History:In 1847,...

. This type of cruisers, produced exclusively for export, were loosely known as the "Elswick Cruisers". Buyers included Chile, China and Japan. They were fast and well-armed, but considered to be vulnerable by the Admiralty (as a result, no Elswick cruisers were built for the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

).

Chih Yuen displaced 2355 LT (2,392.8 t) and had a maximum speed of 18 kn (35.3 km/h; 21.9 mph). She was an "Elsiwick Cruiser" like the Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese and . Her armament consisted of three 210 mm (8.3 in) guns, two 150 mm (5.9 in) guns, eight 57 mm (2.2 in) guns and a torpedo

Torpedo

The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...

 armament of four 457 mm (18 in) discharges.

Chih Yuen, commanded by Captain

Captain (naval)

Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....

 Deng Shichang

Deng Shichang

Deng Shichang was a famous Chinese admiral during the late Qing Dynasty era. Native of Panyu, Guangdong; originally named as Yongchang ; courtesy name Zhengqing ....

, was sunk at the Battle of the Yalu River against the Imperial Japanese Navy

Imperial Japanese Navy

The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

 on 17 September 1894. After putting up a brave fight and in the act of trying to ram Yoshino, Chih Yuen was possibly hit by a 10 inch shell to her torpedo tube

Torpedo tube

A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...

(another version is she was hit by a torpedo from Yoshino) and went under. Chinese sources claimed Capt. Teng hit the water, was grabbed on the arm by his pet dog, but refused rescue and eventually disappeared under the waves. Subsequent Imperial report concludes that during the battle, "The braves were too rash, while the cowards were too cowardly".