![Hai Chi file photo [1324] Hai Chi file photo [1324]](/images/ship_haichi1.jpg)



Haiqi
Country | China |
Ship Class | Haitien-class Protected Cruiser |
Builder | Armstrong-Whitworth, England, United Kingdom |
Commissioned | 24 Jan 1898 |
Sunk | 12 Aug 1937 |
Displacement | 4,300 tons standard |
Speed | 24 knots |
Armament | 2x8in guns |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseChinese cruiser Haiqi (romanized via the Postal Map System as Hai Chi) was launched in Britain circa 1897. As the largest Chinese warship at the time of her completion, she was the first Chinese warship to embark on a world cruise, participating in the 1911 Spithead Naval Review in Britain and became the first Chinese warship to enter American waters. During the cruise, she flew the Qing Dynasty flag, but when she arrived, the Qing was overthrown by the republic, thus she entered port with the Nationalist Party flag on her mast. At the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese Navy leadership decided to block the mouth of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province, China to prevent the Japanese Navy from sailing up river toward the capital Nanjing. To do so, a number of ships were scuttled near the town of Jiangyin, Haiqi among them.
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia
Last Major Revision: Jan 2005
Protected Cruiser Haiqi Interactive Map
Haiqi Operational Timeline
24 Jan 1898Â | Hai Chi was commissioned into service. |
11 Apr 1911Â | Haiqi departed Shanghai, China for Britain. |
20 Jun 1911Â | Haiqi arrived at Plymouth, England, United Kingdom. |
22 Jun 1911Â | Haiqi and her crew attended the coronation ceremony of King George V of the United Kingdom. |
30 Jun 1911Â | Haiqi participated in the Spithead Naval Review off Gilkicker Point in southern England, United Kingdom. |
11 Sep 1911Â | Haiqi arrived in New York, New York, United States and became the first Chinese warship to enter American waters. Her officers and men visited the mausoleum of former US President Ulysses S. Grant and presented a wreath. |
12 Sep 1911Â | Haiqi departed New York, New York, United States with US Navy officer George Cooper on board, arriving in Washington DC, United States later on this date. |
13 Sep 1911Â | Haiqi departed Washington DC, United States for Boston, Massachusetts, United States. |
14 Sep 1911Â | Haiqi hosted US President William Howard Taft. |
5 Aug 1913Â | Haiqi arrived at Huangpu, Guangdong Province, China. |
13 Aug 1913Â | Haiqi participated in the battle in Nanjing, China during the Second Chinese Revolution, flying the flag of the Beiyang Government. |
15 Jun 1935Â | Haiqi departed Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. |
12 Aug 1937Â | Haiqi was scuttled in the Yangtze River at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China to block Japanese movement up the river. |
25 Aug 1937Â | Chinese light cruisers Haiqi, Hairong, Haichen, and Haichou were sunk at the mouth of the Yangtze River at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China, adding more obstacles to prevent Japanese navigation. |
27 May 1960Â | The wreck of Haiqi at the bottom of Yangtze River at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China was broken in two for scrapping. |
Photographs
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