The Foochow Arsenal also Mawei Arsenal (Chinese: 馬尾造船廠) was one of several shipyards in China

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...

 built under orders of Li Hongzhang

Li Hongzhang

Li Hongzhang or Li Hung-chang , Marquis Suyi of the First Class , GCVO, was a leading statesman of the late Qing Empire...

 and Zuo Zongtang

Zuo Zongtang

Zuo Zongtang , spelled Tso Tsung-t'ang in Wade-Giles and known simply as General Tso in the West, was a Chinese statesman and military leader in the late Qing Dynasty....

, leaders of the Qing government's Self-Strengthening Movement

Self-Strengthening Movement

The Self-Strengthening Movement , c 1861–1895, was a period of institutional reforms initiated during the late Qing Dynasty following a series of military defeats and concessions to foreign powers....

 (Zìqiáng, 自强) of the mid to late 19th century. The shipyard was situated in Mamoi (now Mawei), a port town within the jurisdiction of Foochow (now Fuzhou

Fuzhou

Fuzhou is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong linguistic and cultural area....

), which is several miles up the Min River.
Planning for the shipyard, the naval school (船政学堂), and other facilities began in 1866 and construction began in 1867. Two French Naval officers, Prosper Giquel

Prosper Giquel

Prosper Marie Giquel , sometimes spelled Gicquel, was a French naval officer who played an important role in the modernization of 19th century China. His Chinese name was 日意格.-Career:...

 and Paul d'Aiguebelle, both on leave from the French Imperial Navy, were contracted to recruit a staff of about forty European engineers and mechanics, and to oversee the construction of a metal-working forge, the creation of a Western-style naval dockyard, the construction of eleven transports and five gunboats, and the establishment of schools for training in navigation and marine engineering - all within a five year period. Chinese authorities provided the materials and labour; the operating cost over the five years was estimated at 3 million tael

Tael

Tael can refer to any one of several weight measures of the Far East. Most commonly, it refers to the Chinese tael, a part of the Chinese system of weights and currency....

s, and the cost of maintenance of the ships produced was partly funded by revenue from duties on the import of opium. The first ship produced at the Arsenal, the 150 horsepower

Horsepower

Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...

 Wan-nien Ch'ing (Ch'ing

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

 Forever), was launched in June 1869.

The shipyard was almost entirely destroyed by French forces in 1884 during the Sino-French War

Sino-French War

The Sino–French War was a limited conflict fought between August 1884 and April 1885 to decide whether France should replace China in control of Tonkin . As the French achieved their war aims, they are usually considered to have won the war...

 of 1883-1885, in the battle of Fuzhou.