This was because the medium-calibre quick-firing gun had yet to be introduced, thus a warship's firepower at the time was largely a function of individual shell weight rather than volume of fire.

She sank upright in shallow water, and Admiral Ding Ruchang gave orders for her to be destroyed by a naval mine.

Jingyuan was also equipped with weapons other than naval artillery, which included six gatling guns as well as four above water mounted torpedo tubes.

[2] Following completion, both ships, along with the two armored cruisers Jingyuan and Laiyuan,[5][n 1] as well as a newly built Chinese torpedo boat, converged in the solent near Portsmouth in August 1887.

Imperial Chinese Admiral William M. Lang, formerly of the Royal Navy, was sent back to Europe to take command of the squadron as they travelled to China.

[5] During 1888, Jingyuan was repainted along with the rest of the Chinese Navy, changing from the all grey scheme she had sailed from England with, to a combination of a black hull, white above the waterline and buff coloured funnels, typical of the Victorian era.

During the summer of that year, she was part of the flotilla led by Admiral Ding Ruchang, which travelled to Chefoo (now Yantai), Chemlupo (now Incheon, South Korea), and the Imperial Russian Navy base of Vladivostok.

Each Chinese ship was paired with another in a supporting role in case of a signalling failure, with Jingyuan and the armored cruiser Laiyuan grouped together.

[8][n 2] Shortly after the start of the battle, Admiral Ruchang's signalling mast aboard the ironclad warship Dingyuan was disabled by its own weapons.

As Japanese forces took control of the sea forts on either side of the harbour, the fleet found itself under bombardment during the day and torpedo boat attack during the night.

[14] On 9 February, while Jingyuan was operating in the eastern part of the harbour, was struck below the waterline and sank upright in shallow water.

[16] To avoid eventual capture by the Japanese, Ruchang ordered for a naval mine to be placed below decks on Jingyuan and detonated later that day, destroying her.