In the 1860s and 1870s, the Westerners of the Qing Dynasty set off a western affairs movement with slogans of "self-improvement" and "seeking prosperity", and they wanted to align themselves with Europe and the United States in science and technology. In 1888, the Qing Dynasty officially established the Beiyang Naval Division, which became a powerful naval force in Asia, but the Qing Dynasty did not change the state system like Japan, and the government was still corrupt.
In 1868, through the Meiji Restoration, Japan began to move towards the capitalist road and gradually became a new power in Asia. In the same year that the Beiyang Marine Division was established, the Japanese industrial revolution reached its climax. As an island nation with limited resources, Japan urgently needs to expand abroad and extend its claws to its neighbors, North Korea and China. In 1887, Japan formulated the "Qing Dynasty Conquest Strategy", which gradually evolved into a "mainland policy" centered on China. Japan attempted to conquer Taiwan first, then invade Korea, then march into Manchuria and Mongolia, destroy China, conquer Asia, and finally dominate the world. Their own strength does not have the ability to complete the goal, so they implement the strategy of "feeding the war with war".
On July 25, 1894, Japan declared war, the Battle of Toshima broke out, and the Sino-Japanese War began. On August 1, 1894, China and Japan officially declared war. Japan had been planning for a long time, the Qing Dynasty rushed to fight, and in the end the war ended with the defeat of China, the total destruction of the Beiyang Marine Division, and the heroic sacrifice of Patriotic Generals such as Deng Shichang.
On April 17, 1895, the Qing government, under the military pressure of Japan, cut off land and paid compensation, and signed the Treaty of Maguan, which was humiliating and humiliating. After Japan gained huge benefits in China, it was not over. In 1896, Japan salvaged the Dingyuan ship, which had participated in the war. Ryusuke Ono, a militant in Japan, went so far as to buy the wreckage of the Dingyuan ship from the Japanese Naval Department. It was then dismantled and used as a material to build a villa called "Dingyuan Pavilion", the gate was made of the deck of the Dingyuan ship, and the traces left by the war were clearly visible.
At that time, the Dingyuan was the first battleship in Asia and the third in the world. In August 1886, he visited Japan with "Jinyuan" and "Jiyuan" and anchored in nagasaki Port. When the Japanese saw the three battleships, they were very jealous and always wanted to find an opportunity to compete. Ryusuke Ono's purpose in doing this was to humiliate Chinese, and the wreckage of the once invincible battleship was defeated by the Japanese and the Japanese made a gate. This made Chinese very angry, but if he fell behind, he would be beaten, and only if he was strong, he would not be despised!
In May 2004, to commemorate this history, the mainland began to build a replica of the Dingyuan ship, which was copied in strict accordance with the specifications of the time. The new Dingyuan was completed and launched on September 13 of the same year, and sailed to Weihai Harbor on April 16, 2005. On the same day, a sea festival ceremony was held to commemorate the soldiers who died in the Sino-Japanese War. Now, the warship is moored in Weihai Harbor as a water museum, showing people the "Dingyuan" ship, the Beiyang Marine Division, the Sino-Japanese War and other related contents.