The Ching Yuen (靖遠) 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 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...

. Ching Yuen was the sister ship to Chih Yuen

Chih Yuen

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

, 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,...

.

Ching Yuen displaced 2355 LT (2,392.8 t) and had a maximum speed of 18 kn (35.3 km/h; 21.9 mph). 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 four 457 mm (18 in) 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...

s.

Ching Yuen took part in 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 and was sunk later at the siege at Weihaiwei.