In the 1880s and early 1890s, the Beiyang Fleet conducted a routine of training exercises and cruises abroad, with emphasis placed on visits to Japan to intimidate the country.

[2] The ship carried a main battery of four 12 in (305 mm) 25-caliber breech-loading guns in two twin-gun turrets that were placed en echelon forward.

[4][5] Displacement and other dimensions remained the same, but by that time, the propulsion system was only capable of producing 6,200 ihp (4,600 kW) for a speed of 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph).

[5] Zhenyuan was ordered in 1881 and was laid down at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin, Germany in March 1882; her name means "striking from afar" in Chinese.

[8] At the time, China lacked dry docks large enough to handle Zhenyuan and Dingyuan, forcing the navy to rely on shipyards in Japan or in British Hong Kong for periodic maintenance.

[7] The two Dingyuan-class ships began their training routine in April 1886 in joint maneuvers with the units of the Nanyang Fleet, which culminated in a naval review in Port Arthur.

Zhenyuan, Dingyuan, and four cruisers began the first of their overseas cruises in August 1886, which included stops in Hong Kong, Busan and Wonsan in Korea, Vladivostok, Russia, and Nagasaki, Japan.

The so-called Nagasaki Incident was characterized by the Japanese press as an attempt by China to intimidate Japan, leading to calls for naval expansion to counter the Beiyang Fleet.

The Japanese also refused to allow the Chinese ironclads to return for repairs in their shipyards, hampering the ability of the Beiyang Fleet to keep the vessels operational.

The Beiyang Fleet adopted the same black, white, and buff paint scheme used by the Royal Navy at the time, repainting their vessels at some point in 1888.

Coupled with the Nagasaki Incident, these voyages contributed to the growing tensions between China and Japan, since Hongzhang intended them to make clear Chinese naval strength at a time the Japanese fleet was small and poorly developed.

Japan viewed this as a violation of the Tientsin Convention and deployed 8,000 troops in response, leading to the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War on 1 August.

During the unloading process, Zhenyuan and the bulk of the fleet remained underway to provide distant support and avoid presenting themselves as stationary targets to Japanese torpedo boats known to be in the area.

While the Chinese were on the way back to Port Arthur, the Combined Fleet under Vice Admiral Itō Sukeyuki intercepted them on 17 September, leading to the Battle of the Yalu River.

Dingyuan opened fire first, at about 12:20, at the extreme range of 5,300 yd (4,800 m), far in excess of what fire-control equipment was capable of accurately directing at the time.

The blast effect from Dingyuan's initial salvo destroyed her own bridge, collapsing it and trapping Ding and his staff for the duration of the action, depriving the Beiyang Fleet of central control.

In return, the Chinese warships inflicted serious damage on the old ironclad Hiei, which had been unable to keep pace with the rest of Itō's fleet, and was eventually forced to disengage and flee.

The battered Beiyang Fleet, by then reduced to the two Dingyuan-class ships and four smaller vessels, limped back to Port Arthur, arriving there the next day.

[23][24] While approaching Weihaiwei on 14 November, Zhenyuan struck a reef as the ship attempted to maneuver around the obstacles that had been erected off the harbor entrance to prevent a Japanese attack.

The salvage team eventually towed her off the reef and brought the ship into the anchorage at Weihaiwei, where she was run aground to avoid sinking.

The grounding contributed to a significant decline in morale among the crews of the fleet, since the loss of a fully operational ironclad seriously degraded their ability to resist a Japanese attack.

They quickly captured the fortifications on the eastern side of the city, which forced the Chinese ships to withdraw to the western portion of the harbor, where they would be out of range for the guns in the fortress.

The next night, the torpedo boats made another assault on the Chinese fleet, but they missed Zhenyuan and instead sank a cruiser, a training ship, and an auxiliary vessel.

By that time, the Japanese inflicted serious damage on Dingyuan, leading to Ding's decision to scuttle the ship, which provoked many of the senior officers of the Beiyang Fleet to commit suicide, including Yang on 12 February.

[4] The Meiji Emperor visited the ship at Yokosuka on 25 November 1896, after which Chin Yen embarked on a tour of Japan to celebrate the country's victory over China.

[4] During the Boxer Uprising in China, she served with the forces of the Eight Nation Alliance during the Battle of Tientsin, helping to break the siege of the city.

The Russo-Japanese War began on 8 February with a surprise torpedo-boat attack on the Russian First Pacific Squadron that occupied Port Arthur.

[34] Chin Yen helped to enforce the blockade of the Russian fleet in Port Arthur, which led to the Battle of the Yellow Sea on 10 August, where she saw action as part of the Main Force under Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō.

[36] The review began with a parade of captured Russian warships, followed by Chin Yen and other former Chinese vessels as part of a display of the spoils the Japanese Navy had seized in the two wars.

After Japan's defeat in World War II, the Chinese nationalist government insisted on their return, which was granted by the American occupation authority.