Ensign of the Beiyang Fleet
The Beiyang Fleet ("Northern Ocean Fleet" in Chinese, alternatively "Northern Seas Fleet") was the most modernized navy of the late Qing Empire. It was created and equipped largely on the initiated of Li Hongzhang, a prominent statesman and leader of China's "self-strengthening" movement. The Beiyang Fleet was the largest navy in Asia and the 8th largest in the world leading up to the First Sino–Japanese War of 1894, during which it was destroyed by the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Battle of the Yellow Sea and several other engagements. It was one of the four regional navies that existed during the late Qing Dynasty.
The Beiyang Fleet was considered to be the premier navy in Asia up until its defeat by Japan and before the conflict European observers mostly thought that China's victory at sea was all but assured. At its peak it consisted of 78 vessels, including three battleships purchased from the German Empire. Construction of new ships stopped in 1888 when the Qing court lost interest in the project. The Beiyang Fleet was advised by Captain William Lang, a British Royal Navy officer.
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